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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life of Beethoven, by Louis Nohl
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: Life of Beethoven
-       Biographies of musicians
-
-Author: Louis Nohl
-
-Translator: John J. Lalor
-
-Release Date: January 3, 2023 [eBook #69693]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed
-             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-             produced from images generously made available by The
-             Internet Archive)
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN ***
-
-
-[Illustration: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.]
-
-
-
-
-  _BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS._
-
-
-  LIFE OF BEETHOVEN
-
-  BY
-  LOUIS NOHL
-
-  TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
-  BY
-  JOHN J. LALOR.
-
-  “_Our age has need of vigorous minds._”
-
-  CHICAGO:
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
-  1881.
-
-
-
-
-  COPYRIGHT.
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
-  A. D. 1880.
-
-  STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED
-  BY
-  THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-Music is the most popular of the arts. It fills man’s breast with
-a melancholy joy. Even the brute creation is not insensible to its
-power. Yet, at its best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
-without reason are training, practice, talent, and the development
-of that talent, required for the understanding of her secrets. “One
-wishes to be heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion becomes
-only women, but music should strike fire from the mind of a man.” In
-some such strain as this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
-how slowly the works of the great symphonist found a hearing and
-recognition from the general public.
-
-Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the name of Beethoven?
-Who is there that, hearing one of his compositions, does not feel
-the presence of a sublime, all-ruling power--of a power that springs
-from the deepest sources of all life? His very name inspires us with
-a feeling of veneration, and we can readily believe the accounts that
-have come down to us; how even strangers drew back with a species of
-awe, before this man of imposing appearance, spite of his smallness
-of stature, with his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
-piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two charcoal-burners who
-suddenly stopped their heavily laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow
-pass, this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all Vienna, and who was
-wont to stand and think, and then, humming, to go his way, moving about
-bee-like through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book in his
-hand.
-
-We are moved with the same feeling of respect that moved those common
-men, when we hear only Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
-are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel in that music the
-presence of the spirit that animates and sustains the world, and which
-is continually calling new life into existence. Even the person who
-is not a musician himself may feel, in these mighty productions, the
-certainty of the presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
-sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of hearts, the joys and
-sorrows of which Beethoven has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when
-we hear them, that the person who in them speaks to us has, in very
-deed, something to tell us, something of our own life; because he lived
-and felt more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and loved and
-suffered what we all love and suffer, more deeply than any other child
-of dust. In Beethoven, we meet with a personage really great, both
-in mind and heart, one who was able to become a sublime model to us,
-because life and art were serious things with him, and one who made it
-his duty “to live not for himself, but for other men.” The high degree
-of self-denying power found in this phenomenon of art, it is that has
-such an elevating effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks of the
-artist he discharged with equal fidelity. His life was the foundation
-on which the superstructure of his works rose. His greatness as a man
-was the source of his greatness as an artist. The mere story of his
-life, given here in outline, reveals to us the internal springs of his
-artistic creations, and we must perforce admit, that the history of
-Beethoven’s life is a part of the history of the higher intellectual
-life of our time and of humanity.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  CHAPTER I.
-
-  BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
-
-  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
-    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
-    Public at the Age of Seven--Errors as to His Age--Travels in
-    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
-    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
-    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
-    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First
-    Love--Beethoven and Hayden--Compositions written in Vienna      9-39
-
-
-  CHAPTER II.
-
-  THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
-
-  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
-    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s
-    First Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to
-    Remove to the North--New Compositions--His
-    Improvisations--Disappointments in North
-    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in
-    Austria--Neglects His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the
-    Eroica--Napoleon I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His
-    Deafness Again--Thoughts of Marriage--The Guicciardi
-    Family--Meaning of His Music--His “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning
-    of the Eroica and Fidelio--The Leonore Overture--Other
-    Compositions                                                   40-81
-
-
-  CHAPTER III.
-
-  THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.--THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,
-  SYMPHONIES.
-
-  The Pastorale--Meaning of the Apassionata--Beethoven’s Letter
-    to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own Opinion of the
-    Apassionata--Thinks of Writing Operas--Court Composer--Overture
-    to Coriolanus--The Mass in C, op. 86--His Sacred Music--The
-    Fidelio In Prague--Music for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral
-    Code”--Character of His Works about this Period--Intercourse
-    with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op. 69--Improvement in
-    His pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna fears to
-    lose Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh
-    Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to Bettina--His
-    Estimate of Genius                                            82-121
-
-
-  CHAPTER IV.
-
-  THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
-
-  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
-    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Wellington’s Victory--Strange
-    Conduct--Intellectual Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The
-    Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object
-    of Universal Attention--Presents from Kings--The
-    Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--Romulus and the Oratorio--His
-    “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Opinion of the English
-    People--His Missa Solemnis--His Own Opinion of it--Its
-    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony              122-162
-
-
-  CHAPTER V.
-
-  THE LAST QUARTETS
-
-  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The
-    Great Concert of May, 1821--Preparation for It--Small
-    Returns--Beethoven Appreciated--The Quartets--An “Oratorio
-    for Boston”--Overture on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal
-    Experience on His Works--His Brother Johann--Presentiment of
-    Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
-    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man Debility--Calls for Dr.
-    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a
-    Clergyman--His Death                                         163-201
-
-
-
-
-LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-1770-1794
-
-BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
-
-  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
-    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
-    Public at the Age of Seven--Error as to His Age--Travels in
-    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
-    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
-    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
-    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First Love--Beethoven
-    and Haydn--Compositions written in Vienna.
-
-
-Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn on the 17th of December,
-1770. We know only this the date of his baptism, with any certainty,
-and hence the 17th of December is assumed to be his birthday likewise.
-
-His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a singer in the chapel of the
-Elector, in Bonn. The family, however, had come originally from the
-Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather came to Bonn in 1732 after
-willfully leaving the parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
-had attracted attention as a bass singer in the church and the theater,
-and was made director of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
-had founded a family, was earning a respectable livelihood, and had
-won for himself the personal regard of the community. He did, besides,
-a small business in wines, but this, which was only accessory to his
-calling as a musician, contributed to undermine both his own happiness
-and his son’s. His wife, Josepha Poll, fell a victim to the vice of
-intemperance, and, in consequence, it at last became necessary to
-confine her in a convent in Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
-son inherited the vice of his mother.
-
-“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting of wine from a very
-early age,” says the account of his playmates. It was not long before
-this weakness got the upper hand to such an extent that his family
-and home suffered greatly. It finally led to his discharge from his
-position. Stephan van Breuning, our own Beethoven’s friend in youth,
-saw him, on one occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the hands
-of the police in the public streets.
-
-We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s youth, which put the
-strength of his mind as well as the goodness of his heart to the test.
-For in consequence of the very respectable position occupied by his
-grandfather, of his own early appointment as court organist, and of the
-rapid development of his talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
-the higher classes, and was employed in the capacity of musician in
-the families of the nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
-it happened that he and his two younger brothers were obliged to take
-their intoxicated father home, they always performed that disagreeable
-task with the utmost tenderness. He was never known to utter a hard or
-unkind word about the man who had made his youth so sunless, and he
-never failed to resent it when a third person spoke uncharitably of his
-father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain haughtiness, however, which
-marked his disposition as a youth and a man, are traceable to these
-early harsh experiences.
-
-And who knows the complications which caused misfortune to get the
-upper hand here! True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven was of a
-volatile and flighty disposition;” but even his playmates, when he was
-a boy, had nothing bad to say of his character. Anger and stubbornness
-seem, indeed, to have been the inheritance of his Netherland nature;
-and these our hero also displayed to no small extent. But while the
-grandfather had earned a very good position for himself, and always so
-deported himself that young Beethoven might take him as an example, and
-loved to speak of him as a “man of honor,” his father was never more
-than a singer in the chapel, on a small salary. But, notwithstanding
-his comparatively humble social position, he had made a mistake in
-marrying below his station.
-
-Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to
-wife, in 1763. She is described as a “pretty and slender woman.” She
-had served as a chambermaid, for a time, in some of the families of the
-great, had married young, and was left a widow at the age of nineteen.
-Johann’s marriage to this woman was not acceptable to the court
-_capellmeister_, and so it happened that he was obliged to leave the
-home in which he had thus far lived with his lonely father, and move
-into a wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn street, where his son
-Ludwig, the subject of this sketch, was born.
-
-The young wife brought no property to her husband. Several children
-were born to the newly married couple in quick succession. Of these,
-Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766, play some part in Beethoven’s
-life. The growth of the family was so rapid that it was not long
-before they felt the burthen of pecuniary distress. The grandfather,
-who was well to do, helped them, at first. His stately figure in his
-red coat, with his massive head and “big eyes,” remained fixed in the
-boy Ludwig’s memory, although he was only three years of age when his
-grandfather died. The child was, indeed, tenderly attached to him.
-As the father’s poverty increased, he made some efforts to improve
-his condition. But they were of no avail; for his deportment was only
-“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.” He now had recourse to
-teaching, and obtained employment in the theater, for he played the
-violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up what was left of his little
-fortune. Their furniture and table ware followed their silver-service
-and linen--“which one might have drawn through a ring,”--to the
-pawn-shop; and now the father’s poverty contributed only to make him,
-more and more, the victim of his weakness for the cup.
-
-But there was even now one star of hope in the dreary firmament of
-his existence--his son Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
-itself in very early childhood, and could not, by any possibility,
-escape the observation of the father, who, after all, was himself a
-“good musician.” And, although the father was not destined to live
-to see his son in the zenith of his success, it was his son’s talent
-alone that saved the family from ruin and their name from oblivion,
-for with the birth of Beethoven’s younger brother, Johann, and of a
-sister who died shortly after, the circumstances of the family became
-still more straightened. Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
-and it occurred to the father to train his son to be a second little
-Mozart, and, by traveling with him, earn the means of subsistence of
-which the family stood so sorely in need. And so the boy was rigidly
-kept to his lessons on the piano and violin. His daily exercises on
-these instruments must have been a severer task on him than would seem
-to be necessary in a regular course of musical training. He used to be
-taken from his playing with other children to practice, and friends of
-his youth tell us how they saw him standing on a stool before the piano
-and cry while he practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called into
-requisition in his education, and the expostulations of friends could
-not dissuade the father from such relentless severity. But the end was
-attained. Regular and persevering exercise, laid the foundation of a
-skill in the art of music, which led him before the public when only
-seven years of age. On the 26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
-day of the month on which Beethoven died), the father announced, in a
-paper published in Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would have
-the honor to wait on the public with several concertos for the piano,
-when, he flattered himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
-audience a rich treat; and this all the more since he had been favored
-with a hearing by the whole court, who listened to him with the
-greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance the surprise, was made one
-year younger in this announcement than he was in reality; and this
-led Beethoven himself into an error as to his age, which he did not
-discover until he was nearly forty.
-
-We need say but little concerning his other teachers when a youth.
-His great school was want, which urged him to follow and practice his
-art, so that he might master it, and, with its assistance, make his
-way through the world. When Beethoven grew to be eight years of age,
-he had as a teacher, in addition to his father, the vocalist Tobias
-Pfeiffer, for a whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven family. He
-was a skillful pianist. Beethoven considered him one of the teachers
-to whom he was most indebted, and was subsequently instrumental in
-procuring assistance for him from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
-the nature of his instruction, and of the mode of living in the family,
-from the fact, attested by Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently
-happened that Pfeiffer, after coming home with the father late in the
-night from the tavern, took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him at
-the piano practicing till morning. Yet the success attendant on this
-instruction was such, even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and his
-teacher, who performed on the flute, played variations together, the
-people in the streets stopped and listened to their delightful music.
-In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he traveled to Holland with his
-mother, played in the houses of the great, and astonished every one by
-his skill. The profits from this journey, however, cannot have been
-very large. When the boy was questioned about them, he replied: “The
-Dutch are a niggardly set; I shall never visit Holland again.”
-
-In the meantime, he turned his attention also to the study of the
-organ. Under the guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
-neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon became so proficient on that
-instrument, that he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
-service. But his principal teachers here were the old electoral court
-organist, van den Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
-Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition the latter was the first
-to exercise any real influence on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
-years, thanked him for the good advice he had given him--advice
-which had contributed so much to his success in the “divine art.” He
-concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If I should turn out some
-day to be a great man, you will have contributed to making me such.”
-Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an organist, he had all the
-characteristics of the North German artists; but, on the other hand,
-he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style introduced
-by Ph. E. Bach. He was a man of broad general education, and the form
-of his artistic productions was almost faultless. Such was young
-Beethoven’s proficiency at the age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was
-able to appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave the way for
-his appointment as court organist. We owe to him the first published
-account of Beethoven, and from that account we learn that the great
-foundation of his instruction was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,”
-that _ne plus ultra_ of counterpoint and technic. He first made a
-reputation in Vienna by his masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
-instruction he had received in composition, bore fruit also, and some
-variations to a march and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this time
-in print.
-
-In the account of Beethoven referred to above, and which was written
-in 1783, Neefe said that that young “genius” was deserving of support
-that he might be able to travel, and that he would certainly be another
-Mozart. But the development of his genius soon took a wider scope. He
-even, on one occasion, when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
-a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the best pieces of the age
-were produced. This was at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
-his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily greater. We are
-told that when he became court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
-made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the key entirely during
-the performance of divine service, by his own bold modulations. True,
-the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius” in the future, but he, no
-less than his _capellmeister_ Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
-extraordinary capacity of the young man.
-
-Incidents of this kind may have suggested the propriety of giving him
-the instruction appropriate for a really great master of art; and,
-indeed, we find the court organist of Bonn with Mozart in Vienna, in
-the spring of 1787.
-
-Beethoven’s appearance was not what would be called imposing. He
-was small of stature, muscular and awkward, with a short snub nose.
-When he was introduced to Mozart, the latter was rather cool in his
-praise of his musical performances, considering them pieces learned by
-heart simply for purposes of parade. Beethoven, thereupon requested
-Mozart to give him a subject, that he might try his powers of musical
-improvisation. Charmed with the ability displayed in the execution of
-the task thus imposed on his young visitor, Mozart exclaimed: “Mark
-that young man! the world will hear of him some day.” Beethoven,
-however, received very little instruction from Mozart, who was so
-deeply engaged, just at this time, with the composition of his _Don
-Giovanni_, and so sorely tried by adverse circumstances, that he played
-very little for him, and could give him only a few lessons. Besides,
-Beethoven’s mother was now taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks
-he had to return home, where other blows of a hard fate awaited him.
-His kind, good mother, was snatched from him by death, and his father’s
-unfortunate weakness for strong drink obtained such a mastery over
-him that he was deprived of his position shortly after. The duty of
-supporting his two younger brothers was thus imposed on Ludwig, the
-eldest.
-
-Young Beethoven was thus taught many a severe lesson early in life, in
-the hard school of adversity. But his trials were not without advantage
-to him. They gave to his character that iron texture which upheld him
-under the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to Bonn a misfortune.
-He there found the very advantages which he had gone to seek in the
-musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian Francis, Elector of Cologne,
-the friend and patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes of the
-preceding century, who made their courts the sanctuary of culture and
-of art.
-
-Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria Theresa. He had received the
-careful training, for which that imperial house was noted, and he found
-in Joseph II an example in every way worthy of imitation. He was as
-faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to his duties as a ruler,
-and as adverse to what he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
-Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors, who had left
-the country in a state of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
-endeavored to bring order out of chaos and to spread prosperity among
-his people. A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court as long as
-he presided in it. He was still young, not much over thirty, and a man
-of the truest principles. Speaking of him as “that most humane and best
-of princes,” a contemporary writer says: “People had grown accustomed
-to think of Cologne as a land of darkness, but when they came to the
-Elector’s court, they quickly changed their mind.” The members of the
-orchestra of the court especially, among whom our young court organist
-is to be reckoned, were, we are told, very intelligent, right thinking
-men, of elegant manners and unexceptionable conduct.
-
-The Elector had opened the University in 1776, and established a
-public reading-room, which he visited with no more ostentation than
-any one else. “All these institutions, as I looked upon it, had sworn
-allegiance to an unknown genius of humanity, and, for the first time in
-my life, my mind had a glimmer of the meaning and majesty of science,”
-writes the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could Beethoven have
-thought differently? He had, it is true, devoted himself so exclusively
-to music that he had made very little progress in anything else. In
-the use of figures he always found great difficulty, and his spelling
-was worse than could be easily tolerated even in his own day, when
-orthography was a rather rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
-French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher intellectual culture
-which, at this time, swept through Bonn and influenced him likewise
-through his intimate intercourse with the most highly cultivated people
-of the city, soon lifted him to heights unattained by other artists and
-musicians of his century--heights from which he continually discerned
-new fields of action. As a consequence of this intercourse with the
-learned, he acquired intellectual tastes in various directions, and so
-seriously occupied himself with things intellectual that they became a
-necessity to his nature. He tells us himself that, without laying the
-least claim to real learning, it had been his endeavor from childhood
-to acquaint himself with what was best and wisest in every age. But
-these intellectual leanings did not prevent him from being, as the
-painter Kuegelgen said of himself, lovingly devoted to his art. And his
-own beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated in Bonn
-with a greater earnestness and devotion than any other.
-
-The writer referred to above, speaking of the Elector, says: “Not only
-did he play himself, but he was an enthusiastic lover of music. It
-seemed as if he could never tire of hearing it. Whenever he went to
-a concert, he was the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
-And no wonder; for the musical instruction given to the children of
-Maria Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music in Vienna was
-at that time at its height. That city was the scene of the labors of
-Gluck, Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only good music to be heard
-in the “cabinet” at Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished pianist,
-contributed his share to this; and we need not be surprised to find him
-employed by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.
-
-But it was not musicians alone who were benefited by prince’s
-patronage. No sooner did the condition of the country leave him
-the necessary leisure, and the state of its finances afford him the
-necessary means, than he turned his best attention to the theater and
-the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian Francis had organized
-an orchestra, and our young court organist took a place in it as
-a player of the tenor violin. The violinist, Ries, and Simrock, a
-performer on the French horn, were also members of it. Ries and Simrock
-had henceforth much to do with Mozart. The following year, a troupe
-visited Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles, as well
-as Gluck’s _Alceste and Orpheus_. They were followed by Grossmann,
-a person of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished place
-in the history of German dramatic art. His repertory included the
-plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and Goethe, with all of whom
-Beethoven thus became acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
-Francis established a national theater, and, dating from this, dramatic
-poetry and music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it took its place,
-in this respect, side by side with Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and
-became a school well calculated to foster the great abilities of
-Beethoven. In the orchestra we find such men as Andreas, Bernhard
-Romberg and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as a writer on
-the theory of music. The latter was, at this time, Beethoven’s most
-intimate friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come upon the
-stage, many of whom subsequently filled all Germany with their fame.
-Dramatic works of every description appeared. There was Martin’s _Tree
-of Diana_, Mozart’s _Elopement from the Seraglio_, Salieri’s _Grotto
-of Trophonius_, Dittersdorf’s _Doctor and Apothecary_, and _Little Red
-Riding Hood_, Gluck’s _Pilgrim of Mecca_, besides Paisiello’s _King
-Theodore_, and greatest of all, _Don Giovanni_. The music “pleased
-connoisseurs;” and _Figaro’s Marriage_ greatly charmed both singers and
-the members of the orchestra, who vied with one another to do justice
-to that beautiful opera. “The strength of our theater,” says a writer
-of the time, characteristically and simply, “lay in our opera.”
-
-This continual contemplation of “characters in tone” played a decided
-part in the development of an artist who was destined to infuse into
-instrumental music so much of poetical and even of dramatic life.
-We are informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating character in
-the language of music was so great, even at this time, that when
-improvising, which he was very fond of doing, he was frequently
-asked “to describe the character of some well-known person.” One
-distinguishing peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a marked
-influence in the development of the great symphonist of the future,
-Beethoven. We refer to what has been called “the accurate observation
-of musical light and shade, or of the _forte_ and _piano_.” This
-musical peculiarity was introduced into the Bonn orchestra by a former
-_capellmeister_, Mattioli, “a man full of fire and refined feeling,”
-who had learned orchestral accentuation and declamation from Gluck,
-and whose musical enthusiasm caused him to be considered the superior
-of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such a part in Mozart’s life, and
-who had originated this mode of musical delivery in Germany. He was
-succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under whose energetic leadership the Bonn
-orchestra reached its highest point of perfection. In the autumn of
-1791, we find that entire orchestra in Mergentheim, the seat of the
-German order of which Maximilian Francis was Grand Master; and we have
-an account of it from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear idea of
-Beethoven’s life as a student.
-
-Our informant tells us, in the first place, that he was very much
-impressed by an octet of wind instruments. All eight players were, he
-says, masters who had reached a high degree of truth and perfection,
-especially in the sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one of
-Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How Ries infused life and spirit
-into all by his sure and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What once
-could be heard only in Mannheim, we are told, was now heard here--the
-close observance of the _piano_ and the _forte_ and the _rinforzando_,
-the swell and gradual growth of tone, followed by the dropping of the
-same from the utmost intensity to the merest breath. Bernhard Romberg’s
-playing is lauded for “perfection of expression and its fine shades of
-feeling which appeal to the heart;” his cousin Andreas’s for “taste in
-delivery,” and the true art of his “musical painting.” Can we wonder
-that Beethoven’s emulation of, and struggling for the mastery with
-such men contributed constantly to develop his genius? He is praised
-for the peculiar expression of his playing, and above all for the
-speaking, significant, expressive character of his fancy. Our informant
-says, in closing his account: “I found him wanting in nothing which
-goes to make the great artist. All the superior performers of this
-orchestra are his admirers. They are all ears when he plays, but the
-man himself is exceedingly modest and without pretension of any kind.”
-
-We have now seen what was Beethoven’s technical training both by
-practice and example, on the organ and the piano, in the theater and
-the orchestra, and how all these were to him a school of musical
-composition; for the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with Mozart
-and Haydn as we of to-day are with Beethoven. How thoroughly he
-comprehended and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested by what
-he once said to John Cramer, the only piano player to whom Beethoven
-himself applied terms of high praise. The two were walking, in 1799, in
-the park in Vienna, listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor. “Cramer!
-Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed, when he heard the simple and beautiful
-theme near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish anything
-like that.” “What a modest man!” was the reply. This leads us to say
-something of the few beautiful, purely human gifts which were the fruit
-Beethoven enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.
-
-In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with her four children, who were
-only a little younger than our court organist. Beethoven and one of
-the sons, Stephan, received instruction in music from Ries, and were
-thus thrown together. But it was not long before our young artist
-himself was called upon to teach the piano in the family of Madame von
-Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his good mother had succumbed
-to her many sufferings and sorrows, we learn from the first letter
-of his that has come down to us. We there read: “She was so good and
-amiable a mother to me! She was my best friend. O, who was happier
-than I while I could yet pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
-was once some one to hear me when I said ‘mother!’ But to whom can I
-address that name now? Only to the silent pictures of her which my
-fancy paints.” But Madame von Breuning became a second mother to him;
-and what her home was, we are informed by Doctor Wegeler, afterwards
-husband of Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore, for a time one of
-Beethoven’s pupils. He writes: “Her home was pervaded by an atmosphere
-of unconstrained refinement, spite of an occasional outburst of the
-petulance of youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early to the writing
-of little poems. Stephan did the same thing at a much later date, and
-successfully. The useful and agreeable were found combined in the
-little social entertainments of family friends. It was not long before
-Beethoven was treated as one of the children. He spent the greater part
-of the day in Madame Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the night.
-He felt at home in the family, and everything about him contributed to
-cheer him and to develop his mind.” When it is known, on the authority
-of the same Doctor Wegeler, that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
-that Beethoven first became acquainted with German literature, that
-there he received his first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to
-estimate the value to him of the friendship of the Breuning family--a
-friendship which was never interrupted for a moment during his long
-life.
-
-It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse with the Breuning
-family that he felt the first, charming intimations of the tender
-passion. Wegeler makes mention of two young ladies, one of whom, a
-pretty, cheerful and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of Cologne,
-was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s. She took delight in teasing
-our young musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:
-
-  “Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,
-  Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,
-  Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”[A]
-
-His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections was a captain in the
-Austrian army, by the name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823, in the
-written conversations of our deaf master. He was just as much taken
-with the sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold), but to no purpose.
-He called his love for her a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
-after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes about it. What he
-thought of his acquaintance with the Breuning family and these two
-young persons may be inferred from the words in which he dedicated the
-variations _Se vuol ballare_, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore Breuning)
-in 1793: “May this work,” he says, “serve to recall the time when I
-spent so many and such happy hours in your home.”
-
-Besides the home of the Breunings, in which Beethoven was always
-so welcome, we may mention another--that of Count Waldstein, to
-whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The count was very friendly to
-Beethoven. He was aware of his genius, and, on that account, afforded
-him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to spare the artist’s feelings, this
-assistance was made to have the appearance of coming from the Elector.
-It may be that it was this same amiable and art-loving young Austrian
-who endeavored to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the one place in
-the world in which he could receive the final touch to his musical
-education,--Vienna. The very multitude of Beethoven’s ideas, and
-the height to which his intellect had soared, showed him that he was
-far from having reached perfection in the artistic representation of
-those ideas. His readiness of execution and his wonderful power of
-improvisation, even now, assured him victory wherever he went. But the
-small number of compositions which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is
-sufficient proof that he did not feel sure of himself as a composer.
-And yet he had now reached an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
-composer of operas.
-
-In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to London, passed through Bonn,
-and was presented to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis, in person.
-He returned in the summer of 1792, and as Mozart had died in the
-meantime, nothing was more natural than that Beethoven should apply to
-the greatest living musician for instruction. The Elector assisted him;
-and we may divine how the young musician’s heart must have swelled, now
-that he had entered the real wrestling-place in his art, from what,
-as we stated before, he said to his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become
-a great man,” etc. But what was there that is not expected from such
-a person? Waldstein expressed the “realization of his long contested
-wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s album: “By uninterrupted industry,
-thou wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the hands of Haydn.” When
-the wars of the Revolution swept over the boundaries of France, the
-excitement produced was great and universal. Beethoven was affected
-only by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of the grotesque
-ridiculousness of the _sans culottes_ and the blood of the guillotine.
-After a short journey, in November, 1792, Vienna afforded him a safe
-retreat which he never afterwards left. It was not long before the
-French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian Francis was obliged to
-flee, and thus every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home was lost.
-
-It now became imperative that he should take care of himself. His
-two brothers were provided for--Karl was a musician and Johann an
-apothecary. They soon followed him to Vienna, where it was not long
-before they renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn. But his own
-constant endeavor was to be the creative artist that, as he became
-more firmly convinced every day, he was born to be. His studies
-under Haydn, then under Schenk, with whom the readers of the Life of
-Mozart are familiar from his connection with the opera of the _Magic
-Flute_, afterwards under the dry-as-dust Albrechtsberger, the teacher
-of counterpoint, and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy, Salieri--were
-earnestly and zealously pursued, as is evident from what he has left
-after him. But even now his mind was too richly developed and his
-fancy too lofty to learn anything except by independent action. Ten of
-Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived in Bonn; but, during his
-first sojourn in Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from his pen,
-and we cannot but suppose that the germs of many of these last were
-sown during the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We conclude this
-chapter with a list of the works here referred to.
-
-Besides his first attempts at musical composition already mentioned,
-a concerto for the piano written in 1784, and three quartets for the
-piano written in 1785, which were afterwards made use of in the
-sonatas op. 2, we must add, as certainly dating from this period of
-Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count Waldstein (1791), a trio
-for the piano in E flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
-in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this op. as Goethe’s
-_Mailied_, a part of the Bagatellen op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the
-two preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803, the variations _Vieni
-Amore_ (1790), a funeral cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790),
-and one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of which was submitted
-to Haydn and which he thought a great deal of--both of these latter
-compositions are lost--an allegro and minuet for two flutes, a rondino
-for reed instruments and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in 1796.
-
-In addition to these, there are, in all probability, many other
-compositions which were completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn
-in Vienna, and published at a still later date; the octet op.
-103, after which the quintet op. 4 was patterned before 1797, the
-serenade op. 8, which contained the germ of his nocturne op. 42; the
-Variations op. 66, on _Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen_, from the _Magic
-Flute_ (published in 1798); the variations on _God Save the King_,
-the Romance for the violin, both of which appeared in 1805, when
-Beethoven’s brother secretly published much of his music; the variation
-on _Se vuol ballare_ from Mozart’s _Figaro_; the _Es War Einmal_
-from Dittersdroff’s _Little Red Riding Hood_, the “See He Comes,”
-the Messias, and a theme by Count Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797),
-the _Easy Sonata_ in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von Breuning;
-the prelude in F minor (appeared in 1805), and the sextet for wind
-instruments, op. 71, which appeared in 1810.
-
-In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point to three hundred works
-which he had composed, among them the poetical sonatas of his youth.
-How little of sunshine and leisure must there have been in a life
-which, spite of its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
-reaped so little fruit! And even if we fix the date when the three
-trios op. 1, were composed in this period, when Beethoven was for the
-first time taught the meaning of the world and history, by the stormy
-movements of the last decade of the last century; and admit that the
-two concertos for the piano (op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
-wonderful fantasias with which he charmed the hearts and minds of the
-people of Bonn at that time, yet how little did he achieve! This fact
-is the most convincing proof of the truth of Beethoven’s own assertion,
-that fortune did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving his musical training
-out of consideration, Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
-Seldom was it brightened for any length of time by the smiles of joy.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-1795-1806.
-
-THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
-
-  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
-    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s First
-    Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to Remove to the
-    North--New Compositions--His Improvisations--Disappointment in North
-    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in Austria--Neglects
-    His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the Eroica--Napoleon
-    I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His Deafness Again--Thoughts
-    of Marriage--The Guicciardi Family--Meaning of His Music--His
-    “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio--The
-    Lenore Overture--Other Compositions.
-
-
-The golden age of music in Vienna had not passed away when Beethoven
-came to that city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility, and a great
-many circles of the cultured found in music the very soul of their
-intellectual life and of a nobler existence. A consequence of this was
-that more attention was paid to chamber music than any other; and we
-accordingly find that the greater number of Beethoven’s compositions,
-written at this period, are of that style of music. Their very
-dedications tell us much of the social circles of Vienna, and of the
-persons who graced them.
-
-First of all, we have the three trios op. 1, dedicated to Prince Karl
-von Lichnowsky. The man who had been the pupil and friend of Mozart
-might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute found so soon for that
-departed genius. A quartet consisting of the able artists Schuppanzigh,
-Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler
-informs us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with the Prince, who, at a
-later date, paid him a salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
-on _Seht er Kommt_, (See he comes) 1797, were dedicated to his consort,
-the Princess Christiane, _nee_ Thun. She prized Beethoven very highly,
-and, as he once said of her himself, would have liked to encase him in
-glass, that he might be screened from the defiling breath and touch of
-the unworthy. The first three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
-and they introduce us to his special patron, the Prince Esterhazy, with
-whom Beethoven was not very intimate, although the commission to write
-the mass op. 86 was given by Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
-well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24 (1800), and the string
-quintet op. 29 (1801), are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much in
-Beethoven’s life to show that he was on terms of close friendship with
-this rich “merchant.” The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated to Countess
-Keglevics. The first concerto, which was finished in 1794, is dedicated
-to the same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi. The trios op. 9,
-as well as the brilliant sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
-to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven himself called _le premier
-Mecene de sa muse_, and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort. To
-the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the trio op. 11, composed the same
-year, and the sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers in Vienna.
-
-How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky is evidenced by the dedication
-to him of op. 14, the _Pathetique_ (1799). In it we find the earliest
-expression of Beethoven’s view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
-innermost nature, calling to him to live a higher life. To Lichnowsky,
-likewise, was dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful funeral
-march (1802). The two lovely sonatas op. 14 of the year 1799, as
-well as the sonata for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to the
-Countess Braun, whose husband gave Beethoven, some years after, the
-commission for the _Fidelio_; and the quintet op. 16 which was finished
-in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg. When we connect the name of Prince
-Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed in 1797-1800; that
-of Baron von Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord with the
-first symphony op. 21 (1800), that of the learned von Sonnenfels with
-the so-called pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see the force of
-the remark made by J. F. Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
-period loved and appreciated music better probably than any other in
-the history of the world. That they did not continue to do so is due
-entirely to the fact of the general disturbance of their pecuniary
-circumstances consequent on the wars which came to an end only in 1815,
-and which diminished their favorable influence on the cultivation of
-the art of music. But our artist had all the advantages of this noble
-patronage. He spared no pains nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his
-mind could not rest in the mere enjoyment of music. It sought other
-and higher spheres. His art was destined to absorb into itself the
-whole world of culture, to take an active part in the march of history
-and co-operate in giving expression to the ideas of life. The first
-real exploits of our artist were the _Eroica_ and the _Fidelio_ with
-the Leonore overture; but the path which led to them was one on which
-those immediately surrounding him could not very well follow him, and
-one which subsequently isolated him personally more and more from his
-fellow men.
-
-It was an ill-defined longing for this starry path of a higher
-intellectual existence which brought him to the north of Germany, to
-Berlin, after he had finished the principal parts of the course in
-music under Haydn, Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he did not
-meet with recognition and remuneration in his new home. But, after
-all, the recognition and remuneration he met with there were such as a
-virtuoso might expect. For the present, neither the public nor music
-publishers would have much to do with his compositions. Writing to
-Schiller’s wife, the young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of him:
-“So far as my acquaintance with him goes, he is made for the great
-and the sublime. Haydn has said that he would give him great operas,
-and soon be compelled himself to stop composing.” He informs her, at
-the same time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s Hymn
-to Joy--_Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--to music. We thus see that
-he, even now, harbored those great ideas which engaged him at the
-close of his labors, in the composition of the Ninth Symphony. There
-were as yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of the intellectual
-awakening to which Germany is indebted for its earliest classical
-literature, and the period of its great thinkers in the west and the
-north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s own mind was too full of the
-“storm and stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful harmony and
-the warmth which had made such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
-in South-German Austria. But in the North, the memory of “old Fritz”
-still lived; there the stern rule of mind and conscience, generated
-by Protestantism, still prevailed, while the firm frame-work of his
-own art, the counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first father of
-harmony,” as he calls him himself, was there preserved, apparently, in
-its full strength. In addition to all this, the court there was fond
-of music, and King Frederick William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
-the greatest master of his time, in Berlin; while Beethoven, since the
-Elector’s flight from Bonn, had no further prospects in his home on the
-Rhine. He, therefore, decided to remove to the North.
-
-We find him on his journey thither at the beginning of 1796. “My
-music secures me friends and regard--what more do I want?” he writes
-from Prague to his brother Johann, who, in the meantime, had entered
-into the employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He here composed the
-aria _Ah Perfido_ (op. 65). On his way to Berlin he passed through
-Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these two cities, we have no
-information. The king received him very graciously; he played a few
-times at court and composed the sonatas for cello, op. 5, because
-the king himself played the violincello. The very first impression
-received by Beethoven seems to have been decisive. K. Czerny, to whom
-he taught the piano, tells us something from his own recollection and
-observation about him, which is very characteristic of the man, and
-shows how sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent expectations
-in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation was very brilliant, astonishing
-in the highest degree.... No matter in what society he was thrown, he
-made such an impression on all his hearers that it frequently happened
-that not a dry eye was to be seen, while many broke into sobs. There
-was something wonderful in his expression, besides the beauty and
-originality of his ideas, and the highly intellectual way he had of
-presenting them. When he had finished an improvisation of this kind he
-could break out into a fit of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers
-on the emotions he had excited. At times he even felt injured by those
-signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled
-children?’ and for that reason alone he once declined an invitation
-extended to him by the king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
-kind.”
-
-Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment of a very peculiar kind
-here. Instead of the manliness of character which he, coming from the
-softer South, expected to find in the North, he was confronted with
-a voluptuous luxury to which his art was only a handmaid, and with
-an apparent surfeit of music, the natural outgrowth of the French
-influence due to Voltaire’s residence in Berlin. Such was not the
-spirit of the new era which animated himself, and for the operation
-of which he was seeking a proper theater of action. The king himself
-did all in his power to make Gluck and Mozart settle in Berlin, and
-Handel’s oratorios were played even at the court concerts. But how
-could a man like Beethoven have worked side by side with the ruling
-leaders in music--with a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person in
-Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man, in the full sense of the word,
-was Prince Louis Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked of the
-prince’s playing that “it was not kingly or princely, but only that
-of a good piano player.” But it is probable that from the prince he
-borrowed the chivalric and, at the same time, poetico-enthusiastic
-character found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was finished in
-1800 and dedicated to the prince, “the most human of human beings.”
-
-He played twice in the Singing Academy before its conductor, Fasch,
-and his successor, Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he again
-brought the tears to the eyes of his hearers. But he clearly saw from
-the example of these two principal representatives of the more serious
-taste for music in Berlin, that it was not Bach’s spirit which he was
-in search of that ruled there, but only a caricature of it; and this
-last was by no means a counterpoise to the Italian style of music,
-which still held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna disappointed
-in every respect, but with all the greater confidence in himself. He
-never again left Austria for good. It became the scene of his grandest
-achievements, and it was not long before their history began.
-
-In a small memorandum book used by Beethoven on his journey from Bonn
-to Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take courage. Spite of all
-physical weakness, my mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
-year, and must now be all that I can be. Nothing must be left undone.”
-The father always represented Beethoven to be younger than he really
-was. Even in 1810, the son would not admit that he was forty years
-of age. The words quoted above must, therefore, have been written in
-the winter of 1796 or 1797; and this fact invests them with a greater
-significance than they would otherwise possess; for our artist now saw
-that, without the shadow of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
-abiding places; and he, therefore, strained every nerve, regardless
-of what the consequences might be, “to be a great man sometime;” that
-is, to accomplish something really good in music. This regardlessness
-of consequences manifested itself especially in the little care he
-seemed to take of his physical well-being. A friend, who had every
-opportunity to observe him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that “in
-the summer of 1796, he came home almost overpowered by the heat, tore
-open the doors and windows of the house, took off his coat and vest and
-seated himself at an open window to cool himself. The consequence of
-his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which ultimately settled on the
-organs of hearing. From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
-It is possible that the first symptoms of his deafness did not appear
-as early as 1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into the last
-decade of the last century, that it was brought about by heedlessness
-of his health, and that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
-His genius was so absorbed in his music, that he too frequently forgot
-to take care of the physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan von
-Breuning remarked of him, that “his travels had contributed to mature
-his character; that he was a better judge of men, and had learned
-to appreciate the value, but, at the same time, the rarity of good
-friends.” The hard trials of life had added to the earnestness of his
-disposition, and he was awakening to a full sense of what his own duty
-in this world was. This leads us to the first great and memorable work
-of his genius--to the _Eroica_, followed soon after by the symphony in
-C minor.
-
-When, in the year 1806, one of his friends informed Beethoven of
-Napoleon’s victory at Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
-understand the art of war as well as I do the art of music. If I did
-I certainly would conquer him.” These words express a rivalry almost
-personal in its nature, and could have been spoken only by a fool or
-by a man of power not unlike that of Napoleon himself. And, indeed,
-leaving out of consideration men of genius like Goethe and Schiller,
-whose fame had been long established on a firm foundation, there were
-among his contemporaries men of sovereign ambition, only one person,
-Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any great impression on a man who had
-chosen for his motto: “Power is the moral code of men who distinguish
-themselves above others; and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
-brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by the General of the
-glorious French Republic, who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
-Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the throne of Sweden in our
-day, had participated in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
-Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of 1798. He was young; by his
-origin he belonged to the middle class; he was the representative of
-the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge, unconstrained, in personal
-intercourse with whomsoever he pleased.
-
-The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer, to whom Beethoven’s
-_Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
-was very natural that once Bernadotte and Kreutzer became acquainted
-with Beethoven, their intercourse with him and their friendship for
-him, should have been more than usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was
-sincerely devoted to Napoleon, and who must have felt himself drawn
-still more closely to Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
-general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating the exploits of his
-hero by a symphony. Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler, in
-1823, and his account is corroborated by other facts, that such was the
-first impulse to the composition of the _Eroica_.
-
-But the advocate of power was destined soon to swell to the proportions
-of the hero of intellectual courage. “For thus does fate knock at
-the gates.” Beethoven used these words in 1823, in speaking “with
-uncontrollable enthusiasm” of that wonderful _motive_ at the opening
-of the symphony in C minor. The last movement of the work, the
-fanfare-like _finale_, so expressive of the joy of victory, shows that
-he here described a victory indeed, the surmounting of the obstacles
-and darkness of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
-consisted only of “the infirmities of the body.” The sketches of this
-movement, however, occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18, and hence
-must have been noted down before the year 1800! But the fact that the
-melody of the _adagio_ was also found in that sketch shows that he
-was even then as certain of mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of
-the presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of the sad prospect of a
-“wretched” and lonely future--a prospect which stirred him to the very
-depths of his soul.
-
-But it was years before these _motives_ took shape in his mind. To
-do justice to the great ideas to which they give expression, to the
-heroic victory of power and will over whatever opposes them, he had to
-concentrate and strengthen all his powers of mind and heart, and to
-develop his talents by long exercise. The portraiture of the struggles
-and of the artistic creations of the next succeeding years constitutes
-the transition to those first great heroic deeds--a transition which
-must be understood by all who would understand Beethoven’s music.
-
-The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven, at the close of the last
-century, outgeneraled all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time
-in Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph over the renowned
-pianist Woelffl, in 1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But he
-did still more towards achieving success by his works. His numerous
-variations won over to him many a fair player of the piano, while his
-_Adelaide_, which appeared in 1797, gained for him the hearts of all
-persons of fine feeling; so that Wegeler may have told the simple
-truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never, at least so long as I lived
-in Vienna (1794-96), without a love affair; and he occasionally made
-a conquest which it would have been very hard, if not impossible, for
-many a handsome Adonis to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked man, with
-the piercing eyes, was possessed of a power and beauty more attractive
-than any mere physical charms. And then, there was the charm of his
-sonatas: op. 7, with the funeral song in _adagio_, which he is said to
-have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”; of op. 10, with
-its genuine masculine profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
-with the mysterious struggle in the _allegretto_ in No. II., and the
-brilliant exultation of victory in the _allegro_ in No. III., the
-tragic song of the _largo_, the gentle grace of the minuet--here used
-exceptionally in the place of the _scherzo_, as we find it already in
-op. 1; and, last of all, the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
-_finale_. And yet these were followed by the _Pathetique_, with its
-exquisite and enrapturing _adagio_, and the two beautiful love songs,
-op. 14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he offered to a society
-of friends of his art, true songs of the soul and pictures of life
-overflowing; by the _adagio_ of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet grave
-scene; by the _adagio_ of No. VI., descriptive of the melancholy which,
-even now, began to gather its dark clouds about Beethoven himself,
-whose breast was so well attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
-20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21), sketched after the style of
-Haydn, but painted with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in what
-we may call Beethoven’s older life, which closed with the eighteenth
-century. The beginning of the nineteenth opened a new world to our
-artist.
-
-The new world thus opened to Beethoven, and the manner in which he
-himself conceived it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
-verses:
-
-  “Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige
-  Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,
-  In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!
-  Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,
-  Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,
-  Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.
-  Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,
-  Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,
-  Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”
-
-And now began for Beethoven a period of severe trials, brought upon him
-by himself. Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient care of
-his physical health. His trouble with his hearing was increasing, but
-he paid no attention to it. His carelessness in this regard reduced him
-to a condition in which he would have found no alleviation and no joy,
-were it not for the inexhaustible resources he possessed within himself.
-
-But to understand him fully, we must read what he wrote himself,
-in June, 1801, to the “best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in
-Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before. He says:
-
-  “Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He is in conflict with
-  nature and with God. Many and many a time have I cursed Him because
-  He has made His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
-  nature, and this to such an extent that what promises to be best and
-  most beautiful in life, is destroyed. You must know that what was
-  most precious to me, my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How
-  sad my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved is gone!
-  How happy would I now be, if I could only hear as I used to hear!
-  If I could, I would fly to thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My
-  best years will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of my
-  youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly hoped I would. I must
-  now take refuge in the sadness of resignation.”
-
-We have here the words to the long-drawn funereal tones of a song as we
-find it at the beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor (_Mondschein_)
-sonata op. 27 No. II, which belongs to this period. The direct
-incentive to its composition was Seume’s poem, _die Beterin_ in which
-he gives us a description of a daughter praying for her noble father,
-who has been condemned to death. But in this painful struggle with
-self, we also hear the storm of passion, in words as well as in tones.
-Beethoven’s life at this time was one of sorrow. He writes: “I can say
-that I am living a miserable life. I have more than once execrated my
-existence. But if possible I shall bid defiance to fate, although there
-will be, I know, moments in my life when I shall be God’s most unhappy
-creature.” The thunders of power may be heard in the _finale_ of that
-sonata. When it was published, the following year, its dedication
-ran: _Alla damigella contessa Giulietta Guicciardi_. The celebrated
-Giulietta! Her friendship was, indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in
-Beethoven’s “wretched life” at this time. As he writes himself in the
-fall of the year 1801:
-
-  “My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about among men more than
-  I used to. I am indebted for this change for the better to a lovely,
-  charming girl who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now I
-  have had once more some moments of happiness, and for the first time
-  in my life I feel that marriage might make one happy. Unfortunately,
-  she does not belong to my social circle. But if I cannot get married
-  at the present time, I shall have to mix more among men.”
-
-The family of the imperial counsellor, Count Guicciardi, originally
-from Modena, was one of the families of the higher class with whom
-Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance through his art.
-Guicciardi’s wife belonged to the Hungarian family of the Brunswicks,
-who were likewise very friendly to Beethoven. We shall yet have
-something to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for whom and whose
-sister, the charming Countess Deym, the variations for four hands on
-_Ich denke dein_, were written in 1800. Countess Giulietta was in
-her sixteenth year, and as good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg,
-a musician and composer of ballet music. He was, however, in such
-pecuniary straits that Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to his
-assistance through a friend. The young girl did not give any serious
-thought to a union with the Count, although he belonged to her own
-social circle. The attractions of a genuine love had more charms for
-her. This same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s soul. He writes
-to his friend Wegeler:
-
-  “I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was I not always a
-  sickly man? But, for a time, my physical strength has been increasing
-  more than ever before, and the same is true of my mental power. With
-  every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal which I feel, but
-  cannot describe. Thus only can I live. No rest! I know of no repose
-  but sleep, and it sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time
-  to sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half freed from my
-  trouble and then, a perfectly mature man, I shall come to you and
-  renew our old friendship. You must see me as happy as it is given me
-  to be here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is more than I
-  could bear. I shall struggle manfully with fate, and be sure, it will
-  not overcome me entirely. O, how beautiful it would be to live life
-  over a thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”
-
-To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which lifted him to the height
-of joy and of intellectual delight, we are indebted for those works of
-his which are models of poetic creation. What became of the traditional
-form of the sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song the meaning of
-joy and pain and of their wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
-op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which looks as if thrown off
-with a single stroke of the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
-of fate in the opening chord; the jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment
-of pleasure; the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation
-than realization, when misery wrings a cry of pain from him, and he
-breaks out in recitative--a form of art never before coupled with an
-instrument, but which is here more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy
-and genius have now transformed the mere musician into the artist and
-the poet. Beethoven, as the master of the intellectual world of tones,
-began his career with this sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
-his every piece is a psychological picture of life. The form of the
-sonata had now fully developed the intellectual germ which in it lay.
-It is no longer mere form, but a finite vessel holding an infinite
-intellectual treasure as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
-although retained as usual, are henceforth only phases and stages of
-the development of that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a drama
-played in the recesses of a human soul--in the soul of a man who is
-forced to taste, while still he laughs in his melancholy, the tragic
-contents of the cup of human life during every moment of his existence.
-For thus it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow endows him with
-untrammeled serenity of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent of a
-higher light. A humor that weeps through its smiles is henceforth his.
-
-On this sonata followed a symphony with the real Beethoven flavor, the
-second symphony (op. 36). It had its origin in the “sublime feeling”
-which “animated” him in the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
-also the brilliant _Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47). This summer of 1802 is
-a memorable one in Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the severest
-trials of his courage as a man. These trials transformed him into a
-hero, and were the incentives to the composition of the _Eroica_. To
-this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt Will,” which discloses
-to us the inmost depths of Beethoven’s soul.
-
-His physician had ordered him in October, 1802, to the village of
-Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
-Beethoven thought that death was not far off, and, anxious to justify
-himself before posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you men, who
-think or say that I am malignant, obstinate or misanthropic, what an
-injustice you do me! You know not the secret cause of what you think
-you see. From childhood up, my heart and mind have been bent upon the
-accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever moved thereto by the feeling
-of benevolence. To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed. But
-consider that for six--yes, six whole years, I have been in a most
-unfortunate condition--a condition which has been made worse by the
-stupidity of my physicians; that my hopes, from year to year, of being
-cured have been disappointed, and that at last there lies before me
-the prospect of permanent ill. Born with an active and even fiery
-temperament, a lover of the distractions of society, I had to live in
-a state of isolation from all men. How humbled I felt when a person
-standing near me could hear a flute that was playing in the distance,
-while I could hear nothing! Experiences like this brought me to the
-very verge of despair, and I came very near ending my own life. Art
-alone held me back. It seemed to me impossible that I should leave
-the world until I had accomplished all for which I felt myself so
-well fitted. O God, thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
-beneficence and love for human kind. O you men, when you read this,
-remember that you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate rejoice to
-find one of their number who, spite of the obstacles put in his way by
-nature, did all in his power to be admitted into the ranks of artists
-and men worthy of the name.”
-
-And now, too, we find in his music the first traces of such appeals
-to the Godhead. The text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
-appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature. But, in the domain of
-religion, our artist had not yet risen to his full height. He is still
-preponderantly the musician of life, force and of the brilliant play
-of the intellect; and his compositions are still pre-eminently works
-of art and of the fancy. The _Eroica_ (op. 55), which was finished
-in 1803, possessed these characteristics in the highest sense of the
-word. And now we may understand what he felt himself, as he said in his
-“Will,” fitted to accomplish, as well as the mysterious conversation
-he had in 1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which he speaks of
-this period of his life, and of Giulietta, who had now long been the
-Countess Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before, returned from
-Naples, where her husband had acted as director of the theater for
-years. The conversation in question begins thus: It was held in the
-French language--
-
-Beethoven--“She was mine before she was her husband’s or Italy’s, and
-she paid me a visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”
-
-Schindler--“By Hercules!”
-
-Beethoven--“If I had parted in that way with my strength, as well as my
-life, what would have remained to me for nobler and better things?”
-
-Beethoven had said of himself that he had something to do in the
-world besides marrying. His ideal was not to live in such cramped
-circumstances. He knew of “nobler and better things.” Yet it seems
-that he offered his hand to the “lovely, charming girl” in this year
-1803, when he began to have a prospect of permanently bettering his
-condition, and that Giulietta was not disinclined to marry him.
-But family considerations prevented the decisive step; and she was
-married in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg. “Despising”
-her--whether rightly or wrongly we have no means of determining, but we
-do know that she was not happy--Beethoven turned to the performance of
-the great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.
-
-Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand others, thus proves the
-truth of the old saying: the course of true love never did run
-smooth. In his earlier biographies this episode has been treated as
-a great and even tragic event, because that remarkable letter to his
-“immortal love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to speak, was
-erroneously supposed to be addressed to Countess Guicciardi and to
-refer to this circumstance in his life. But although no more than an
-episode, Beethoven could here have mastered his feelings only by the
-full consciousness he now possessed of the duty he owed to his genius.
-As Liszt says, _le genie oblige_, and Beethoven felt that it was a
-duty genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition and even the
-heartfelt happiness that is born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
-wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter: “You paint, and I shall
-compose music. In this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps live
-forever.” And that our artist had some right to lay claim to such
-immortality is proved not only by his sonatas, which are little poems
-in themselves, by his songs and quartets, but by mighty and memorable
-works which reflect the world-soul. He was working on that grand
-creation, the _Eroica_. This sacrifice of his feelings may have been,
-and most likely was, forced upon him by the accident of the uncertainty
-of his position in life, but that it was not made without a struggle
-is manifest from his expression of contempt for Giulietta--_mais je
-la méprisais_ but still more from the ideal of the value of faithful
-love which now became rooted in his soul, and which we see reflected
-in the _Fidelio_, that immediately followed the _Eroica_, and which
-presents us with the most beautiful of all female characters. In its
-composition, we find united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
-in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and which he so beautifully
-embodied in his art. On the golden background of his enthusiasm for
-“nobler and better things,” the sweet face of Leonore stands out in
-bold relief as the perfect type of human beauty.
-
-Beethoven borrowed the tones of the _Eroica_ from the elevating nature
-of humanitarian ideas transferred to the region of public life.
-The hero enters, touching with giant hands the foundations of human
-existence, which he wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And, indeed,
-the First Consul of the French Republic might very well suggest to
-him, at the beginning of this century, how heroes act, the jubilation
-with which nations greet them, how great existing institutions oppose
-their progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their might. The first
-movement of the _Eroica_ describes the most varied events in the life
-of such a hero with a fullness of episode almost destructive of its
-form. In its climax, the real work of the hero is seen; the old order
-of things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces in its powerful and
-terrific syncopations and dissonant chords, to make place for a new
-existence, one more worthy of human beings. But, at the close of the
-movement, the victorious hero exultingly yokes the new order of things
-to his chariot. This is history, the world’s history in tones; and,
-for its sake, we may for the moment shroud the dearest longings of the
-heart in the dark robes of resignation.
-
-Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended the genius of
-liberty, at this time newly born into the world, and a new factor in
-the history of mankind. He understood, too, the tragic fate of all
-heroes--that they are destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
-though God-commissioned, to die, that their works may live and prosper.
-Bonaparte’s history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime and solemn
-step of the funeral march; for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
-no man had stepped as did he through the spaces of the existing order
-of things. But Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far beyond the
-reality that surrounded him. As early as 1802, he wrote to the music
-dealers in Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers of the _Edition
-Peters_: “Away with you all, gentlemen! To propose to me to write
-such a sonata! That might have done in the time when the Revolution
-was at fever heat, but now that everything has returned to the old
-beaten path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat with the Pope,
-to write such a sonata--away with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore,
-who is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom mankind weeps in the
-tones of this funeral march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
-hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that is solemnly borne to
-the grave to the rhythm of this wonderful march--a march which has in
-it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare or an Æschylus.
-Beethoven in this march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
-music, and gave evidence of that quality of soul which made him
-indifferent to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”
-
-The two last movements of the work do not convey so powerful an idea
-of heroic action. Was it that his powers of imagination flagged, or
-that the change in Napoleon’s career made him disgusted with the hero?
-We know that when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the symphony was
-finished--the title, proudly and characteristically enough bearing
-only two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and “Luigi van Beethoven” at
-the bottom--and Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he said: “Can
-it be that he is no more than an ordinary man? Now he, like others,
-will trample all human rights under foot, serve only his ambition and
-become a tyrant.” He tore the title page in two, threw the work on the
-floor and did not again look at it for a long time. When it appeared
-in 1806, it was under the name of the _Sinfonia Eroica_, “composed
-to celebrate the memory of a great man.” It was dedicated to Prince
-Lobkowitz, who purchased it and caused it to be performed before Prince
-Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of 1804. The Prince was so delighted with
-it that he had it played three times the same evening in immediate
-succession, which was a very great satisfaction to Beethoven.
-
-There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental fresco painting of
-a hero who strives and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
-to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the _Fidelio_, which made the
-latter the natural successor of the _Eroica_. Florestan dared “boldly
-to tell the truth,” and this, his entering the lists for right and
-freedom, incites his faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
-Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison, and, just in the nick
-of time, casts herself between her beloved husband and his murderer.
-Her cry--which has in it much of the heroism of death--“kill first
-his wife,” is a bit of history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally
-great, as it is also the most intense dramatic representation, in
-tones, of the full energy of a woman’s love.
-
-In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote: “I have composed music of
-every description, except operas and church music.” But even, a short
-time before this, he had something to do with the theater. He had
-written the ballet _Prometheus_, which represents in a sense, the
-history of the creation of man in choreographic pictures. The success
-of this work determined Schikaneder, well known to the readers of
-the life of Mozart, and who, at this time, had the direction of the
-newly-built theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a large annual
-stipend. When this man, Schikaneder, in the same spring of 1803, saw
-that the oratorio _Christus am Oelberge_ (Christ on the Mount of Olives)
-met with good success, although more theatrical than spiritual in its
-character, he commissioned him to write an opera also. The subject was,
-probably, _Alexander_--a very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
-own heroic style, and his feeling at the time. But nothing came of it.
-There can be no doubt, however, that a piece which he had sketched
-and intended to make a part of it, the duet, _O Namenlose Freude_ (O
-Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the _Fidelio_. Beethoven had
-received a commission to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who had
-taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in the year 1804.
-
-At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and Cherubini were writing for the
-Viennese. The compositions of the latter met with great success, and
-made a powerful impression on Beethoven. In these men he met with foes
-worthy of his steel, and inducements great enough to lead him to do
-his very best. His severe heart trials and consequent disappointment
-had taught him how lonely he was in the world. Breuning wrote of him
-in 1804: “You have no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable, and, I
-might say, horrible an impression his partial loss of hearing has made
-on him.... What must be the feelings of one with such a violent temper,
-to meet with such a misfortune! And then his reserve, and his distrust
-frequently of his best friend!” A subject like that of the _Fidelio_
-must, of itself, have taken strong hold of a man like Beethoven,
-because of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds her mortal enemy,
-Pizarro, spell-bound, with the pistol in her hand. What must have most
-affected him here, however, was the ideal background of suffering for
-truth and freedom--for Pizarro was a tyrant--and the fact that a woman
-had the power that comes of genuine fidelity to avert every danger from
-her beloved husband, even at the risk of her own life. And Beethoven
-endowed the work with his exalted and almost transfigured background of
-feeling, by means of his music, which here depicts the constitution of
-his own nature, and his whole intellectual build. He accurately hits
-the decisive climax of the conflict, and gives to the principal actors
-so much of real personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
-them, and to understand their action from their inner feelings. This,
-in connection with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
-of the dramatic characteristics which we greet in the _Fidelio_. The
-development of the operatic form as such is not further carried on
-in this work. In his pure instrumental music, even more than in the
-_Fidelio_, Beethoven has given form to the language of the soul and to
-the great hidden springs of action of the world and human nature.
-
-A period may come when stricter demands may be made on dramatic art,
-and when, as a consequence, this work may not have as much charm as
-it has for us, because of its fragmentary character. But be this as
-it may, in some of its details it will always appeal irresistibly to
-the finest feeling. We find in it passages like those in Beethoven’s
-improvisation which never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
-real happiness. The greater part of this language was, like Mozart’s
-Cantilene, rich in soul. Yet melodies like _Komm, Hoffnung, lass
-den letzten Stern_, _In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen_ and _O namen,
-namenlose Freude_, are of such a character that “humanity will never
-forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish food and light at
-the same time, and, like certain forces, produce a greater yield in
-proportion as greater demands are made upon them. We frequently find
-in it expressions that are simply inimitable, and when this work is
-contemplated we see that it bears evidence of a profundity of soul and
-of a development of mind which separate--_toto coelo_--Beethoven from
-his predecessors, Mozart not excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of
-the deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of the web and woof of
-the human soul itself. Such, for instance, are _Wir muessen gleich zu
-Werke schreiten_, the chorus of prisoners, the picture of Florestan’s
-dungeon, the digging of the grave, and above all the thrilling _Toet’
-erst sein Weib!_ (kill first his wife). But the center of all is,
-as may be seen from the innumerable and most refined traits of the
-music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity. Her character stirred
-Beethoven to the very depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
-her devotion to freedom were his own. The work itself was to be called
-_Leonore_, as, indeed, the first piano-score was called in 1810.
-
-This work has a meaning in the life of our artist himself, greater,
-almost, than its importance as a work of art.
-
-The work required, for its completion, only the spring and summer of
-the year 1805. The sketches of it show how carefully the file was used
-on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic devotion was able to
-smelt the ore of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes which make
-up the matter of the whole; but this it could not do here fully enough
-to produce that natural flow which dramatic taste even now demanded.
-Moreover, the storm of war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
-hearers of even the calm of devotion. The result was that only the
-prima donna Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the character
-of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as a composer of purely instrumental
-music, had not paid sufficient attention to the demands of the human
-voice. On the 13th of October, 1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after
-the 20th the _Fidelio_ was repeated three times; not, however, before
-the art lovers of Vienna, but before an audience composed of French
-officers. It was received with little applause, and after the first
-performance the house remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the work. But
-even the critics missed in it at this time “that certain splendor of
-originality characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our artist’s friends
-now gathered about him to induce him to make some abbreviations in the
-opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky. Beethoven was never before
-seen so much excited, and were it not for the prayers and entreaties
-of the gentle and tender Princess Christiane, he would certainly have
-agreed to nothing. He consented at last to drop a few numbers, but
-it took six full hours to induce him to do even this. It is easy to
-explain this fact: the work was the pet child of his brain. Breuning
-now re-arranged the libretto. He made the acting more vivacious and
-Beethoven shortened the several pieces still more. The work proved more
-acceptable to the public, but Beethoven thought himself surrounded by
-a network of intrigue, and, as he had agreed only for a share in the
-profits, he once more withdrew the work. We hear no more of it until
-1814. We shall see what effect its production had when we reach that
-date in Beethoven’s life.
-
-But this re-arrangement led to a new overture and to a new poetical
-expression of the subject, to the great _Leonoren-Overture_, known
-as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven, in this overture,
-lets us hear, as if in the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
-Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that flashes across his mind
-when he thinks of his Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
-in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of her own life for her
-beloved husband, and in the signal of trumpets, the coming of her
-rescuer; the calm joy of the unutterably happy husband, as well as the
-boisterous, stormy joy of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
-with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest song of praise of
-freedom and happiness. The symphonic poem, _Leonore_, as a whole, far
-surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together with the _Eroica_, it is
-the second monumental work of Beethoven’s genius in this early period
-of his musical creations, and proves him a matured master in his art.
-
-The proud path thus entered on, he never left.
-
-Besides the works already mentioned, we may, for the sake of
-completeness, mention the following likewise: The _Opferlied_ (1st
-arrangement), _Seufzer eines Ungeliebten_, variations _quant’è più
-bello_, about 1795; variations to _Nel cor più_ and minuet _a la
-Vigano_ which appeared in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
-for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and variations to a Russian
-dance, in 1797; variations to a Swiss song and _Mich brennt_, 1798;
-_Gretels Warnung_, _La partenza_, composed in 1798; variations to
-the _La stessa_, _Kind, willst du_ and _Taendeln und Scherzen_, which
-appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed in 1799; variations in G
-major, composed in 1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
-_Bei Maennern_ which appeared in 1802; terzetto op. 116, sonatas for
-violin, op. 30, variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802; _Glueck der
-Freundschaft_, op. 88 and _Zaertliche Liebe_ which appeared in 1803;
-trio variations op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed in
-1803; three marches op. 45, variations to “Rule Brittannia,” and the
-_Wachtelschlag_, 1804; sonata op. 53, together with the _andante_ in F
-major, originally belonging to it, the _triple concerto_ op. 56, and
-the sonata op. 57, begun in 1804, _An die Hoffnung_, op. 32 and trio
-op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth concerto op. 58, composed in
-1805; trio op. 36, sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; _Empfindungen
-bei Lydiens Untreue_ belonging probably to 1806.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-1806-1812.
-
-THE SYMPHONY C MINOR--THE PASTORALE AND THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.
-
-  The Pastorale--Its Composition--Meaning of the Apassionata--Its
-    History--Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own
-    Opinion of the Apassionata--New Acquaintances--Thinks of Writing
-    Operas--Court-theater Composer--Overture to Coriolanus--The Mass
-    in C., op. 86--His Sacred Music--The Fidelio in Prague--Music
-    for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral Code”--Power Expressed
-    in Beethoven’s Music--Character of His Works about this
-    Period--Intercourse with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op.
-    69--Other Compositions and their Meaning--Improvement in His
-    Pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna Fears to Lose
-    Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh Symphony--Wagner
-    on the Seventh Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to
-    Bettina--His Estimate of Genius.
-
-
-Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Will, written in the year 1802, closed with
-this painful appeal: “O thou, Providence, let one day more of joy dawn
-on me. How long have I been a stranger to the heartfelt echo of true
-happiness! When, when, O God, can I feel it once more in the temple of
-nature and of man. Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our artist’s
-thoughts were thus directed into channels which carried him far from
-the scenes immediately surrounding him into regions of a higher
-existence--of an existence which he soon described so exquisitely in
-the language of music. The _Pastorale_ which celebrates this “Temple
-of nature” was originally designated as No. 5, and was, therefore,
-intended to be completed before the symphony in C minor. But it would
-seem that Beethoven had to go through many an internal conflict, the
-result of his great depression of spirits, before he could acquire the
-calmness of mind necessary to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
-God in Nature,” and to give it proper form and expression in art.
-
-Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806, that the intrigues about the
-_Fidelio_ were all the more disagreeable to Beethoven because the fact
-that it had not been performed reduced him to some pecuniary straits,
-and that it would take all the longer time for him to recover, as the
-treatment he had received deprived him of a great deal of his love for
-his work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59, bears the memorandum:
-“Begun on the 26th of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony (op. 60), as
-well as the violin concerto (op. 61), also belong to this year. In the
-meantime op. 56, which had been begun some time previous, the triple
-concerto, op. 57, called the _Apassionata_, and op. 58, the fourth
-concerto, were all either continued or finished. What wealth there is
-here--in the number of compositions, in their magnitude and in their
-contents! The three quartets are dedicated to Count Rasumowsky, who had
-given Beethoven the commission to write them, and who had furnished the
-Russian melodies on which they are based. How well the _adagio_ of the
-second of them points us to that higher region in which Beethoven now
-felt himself more and more at home. He himself told Czerny that that
-_adagio_ suggested itself to him one night, when he was contemplating
-the starry heavens, and thinking of the harmony of the spheres. In the
-serene calmness of these vanishing tones, we see the revolution of the
-stars mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all pain seems lightened, all
-passion stilled. Yet how both had raged even in the _Apassionata_,
-the draft of which is to be found immediately following that of the
-_Fidelio_. The _Apassionata_ is written in his heart-blood. Its tones
-are cries of excitement the most painful. It was finished in the
-summer, and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick. An oil painting of the
-count’s sister, Countess Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
-after his death. It bore the superscription: “To the rare genius,
-the great artist, the good man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
-letter to his “immortal love,” already referred to, was addressed
-to her--and it is truly a letter which gives us a pen-picture of
-Beethoven’s condition of mind at that time, and which affords an idea
-of the “gigantic sweep of his ideas.” It was found after his death,
-together with other important papers, in an old chest, and is dated on
-July 6, from a watering place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
-have been written in the year 1806, in which Beethoven paid a visit to
-the Brunswicks. But, be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
-feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt on that sublime height on
-which all earthly desires are silent. It seems also to lead us over to
-the understanding and appreciation of Beethoven’s subsequent creations,
-which henceforth gain an ideal character not of this earth. We can here
-touch only on the principal points in these letters.
-
-  “My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he begin it on the 6th
-  of July, in the morning. He proceeds: “Only a few words to-day, and
-  those in lead-pencil, and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
-  be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What a wretched loss
-  of time for such trifles! Why this deep affliction where necessity
-  speaks? How can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
-  except by limitation of our desires? Can you change the fact that you
-  are not entirely mine nor I entirely yours? Look out on the beauties
-  of nature, and resign yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
-  and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your case. But you
-  forget too easily that I have to live for you as well as for myself.
-  Were we entirely one, you would feel the pain there is in this as
-  little as I.... We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
-  to-day what reflections I have made upon my life, during the past
-  forty-eight hours. Were our hearts always close to one another, I
-  am sure I should make no such reflections. My heart is too full to
-  tell you much. There are moments when I find that language is nothing
-  at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only pet, my all, as I am all
-  yours. The gods must direct the rest in our lives. Thy faithful
-
-                                                                LUDWIG.”
-
-But, on the same dainty little piece of note paper, he continues, for
-the mail had already left:
-
-  “You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am, you are with me. I must
-  try to so arrange it that our life may be one. But what, what a life
-  to be thus without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men which I
-  do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really do earn. That a man
-  should humble himself before his fellow man, pains me; and when I
-  consider myself as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
-  they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we find the divine in
-  that which is human.... No matter how great your love for me, my love
-  for you is greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good night!
-  Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas, that I should be so near
-  and yet so far from you. Is not our love a real firmament of heaven?
-  And is it not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”
-
-He takes up the same piece of paper once more:
-
-  “Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise my thoughts fly
-  to you, dear--to you, immortal love, now joyfully, now sadly, waiting
-  to see whether the fates will hear our prayer. If I shall live at
-  all, it must be with you. I am resolved to wander about far away
-  from you, until the time comes when I may fly into your arms, and
-  say that I belong to you; until I may send my soul absolved by you,
-  dear, into the land of spirits. Yes, unfortunately it must be so.
-  You will be all the more composed, since you know how faithful I am
-  to you. Another can never possess my heart--never! Why, O God, must
-  a man be so widely separated from the object of his love? And yet
-  the life I now live in Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
-  once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men. At my present
-  age, there should be some uniformity in my life; but is such a thing
-  possible in my present circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
-  contemplation of our existence can we gain our object and live
-  united. Be patient! love me! How I longed and wept for you to-day and
-  yesterday; you, my life, my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget
-  the most faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine and
-  thou forever mine.”
-
-How completely like Beethoven! It was during this very summer that he
-completed the _Apassionata_, which he always considered the greatest
-of his sonatas, at the home of the Brunswicks. Can it be said that
-its language is in anything greater than the language of this letter?
-He seems at this time to be nearly always possessed by a feeling of
-melancholy. But for this very reason he took refuge more than ever in
-music. It was, indeed, a real sanctuary to him, and he refused to open
-that sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of all, to the eyes
-of enemies. This he very plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
-the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and was spending some time in
-Silesia with the prince. The latter desired him to play for some French
-officers who were quartered in his castle. A violent scene immediately
-ensued. After it was over, Beethoven left the castle. He refused to go
-back with the prince who had followed him, but repaired, post haste,
-back to Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was broken to pieces
-as an expiatory sacrifice. It was not long, however, before the old
-friendship of the two was re-established.
-
-In the quartet sketches of this year, we find the words: “Just as you
-can cast yourself here into the whirl of society, it is possible to
-write operas spite of all social impediments. Let the fact that you
-do not hear be a mystery no longer, even in your music.” This “whirl
-of society” introduces us to some new acquaintances. Count Rasumowsky
-held very brilliant soirées, at which the amiable and charming wife
-of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed some of Beethoven’s works in
-an exquisite manner. The playing of the elegant and handsome Countess
-Marie Erdoedy, whom Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
-was not inferior to that of Madame Bigot. Other patrons of the musical
-art were Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming Frankfort lady, and
-the Malfattis, one of whom was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
-Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein, daughter of the Augsburg
-piano-maker, described in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll a manner,
-was the rendezvous of lovers of music. Nor must we forget to mention
-Prince Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother, the Archduke
-Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished pupil, who, as our artist himself
-admitted, understood music thoroughly.
-
-The chief value, however, of the works quoted above, is that they
-inform us how Beethoven, spite of his experience with the _Fidelio_,
-was thinking very seriously of the writing of “operas.” If successful
-here, his fortune was made, and there was nothing then to hinder the
-crowning of his love by marriage. There now seemed to be a very good
-prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807, the two court-theaters
-passed into the hands of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at
-their head. Lobkowitz immediately called upon Beethoven to act as
-composer for the Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position, and
-bound himself to write at least one great opera and operetta each
-year, and to supply whatever other music might be needed. A feeling of
-inexhaustible power must have inspired him at this time, when he was
-actuated by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence in self. A
-forcible proof of this is the overture which he then wrote to Collins’s
-_Coriolanus_. But the gentlemen did not accede to his wishes; they did
-not want to trust him as composer of instrumental music in this point;
-and thus Beethoven, although not particularly pleased by the action of
-his princely friends, was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
-in the field of labor most in harmony with his disposition.
-
-“If it be true that genuine strength and a fullness of deep feeling
-characterize the Germans, we must say that Beethoven was, above all,
-a German artist. In this, his most recent work, we cannot but admire
-the expressiveness and depth of his music, which so grandly painted
-the wild, perturbed mind of _Coriolanus_, and the sudden and terrible
-change in his fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.” These
-lines are from an account of a concert given in the _Augarten_ by
-Lichnowsky in the spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
-that Beethoven was now engaged on the symphony in C minor and on the
-_Pastorale_. Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a large and thriving
-music business in London, and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
-was French at the time, he felt at his ease so far as money matters
-were concerned. He writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807: “I
-can now hope to be able, in a few years, to maintain the dignity of
-a real artist.” And when, in the same letter, we read the farther
-passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell her that I fear that I shall
-become great without a monument, to which she has contributed,” we can
-understand how love, fame and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for
-new and mighty exploits in art.
-
-The next work published by Beethoven was the Mass in C, op. 86,
-which Esterhazy gave him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
-even more than in opera, missed the spirit of his subject. The Mass
-bears witness to his intellect, and has all the charms of sound; but
-it is not a religious composition. When Beethoven himself wrote to
-Esterhazy, as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that it is not
-without many misgivings that I shall send you the Mass, for I know
-you are accustomed to have the inimitable works of the great Haydn
-performed for you,” he proves that he did not understand the real
-spirit of church music; for Haydn had, just as little as Beethoven,
-a true conception of what church music is. Haydn was now seventy-six
-years old, and Beethoven attended a performance of his _Creation_ the
-following year, and, with a number of the distinguished nobility,
-received the celebrated guest at the door. The fame of the man whom
-he was thus called upon to honor, was a type of what his own was
-destined one day to be. And what his own fame would be, the production
-of the great works he had recently finished, must have enabled him
-to foresee. When the Mass was performed, in September, 1807, in
-Eisenstadt, our composer had a personal falling out--the result of a
-misunderstanding--with Mozart’s pupil, Hummel; and one which was not
-made up for for some years. The prince had criticised Beethoven’s Mass
-by asking the strange question: “But, my dear Beethoven, what have you
-been doing now?” Hummel could not help laughing at this strange mode of
-criticism. Beethoven supposed he was laughing at his work; and after
-this would have nothing more to do with the prince.
-
-It was otherwise with the magnanimous, noble lover of art, Prince
-Lobkowitz, one of the principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
-principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven was indebted for
-the suggestion that the _Fidelio_ should be performed in Prague. For
-the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year, 1807, the overture, op.
-138, which is, therefore, to be accounted not the second, but the third
-_Leonore_ overture. The performance of the _Fidelio_, however, did
-not take place until 1814, the same year in which it was performed in
-Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it was publicly announced that
-“the gifted Beethoven had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s Faust to
-music, as soon as he could find any one to prepare it for the stage.”
-The first part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a “tragedy;” and,
-as we shall see, the poem made a deep impression on our artist. Long
-after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied his thoughts. But he had,
-even now, written some Faust music--the symphony in C minor. To it we
-now turn, for it is one of the greatest of Beethoven’s creations.
-
-We have seen how Beethoven himself once said: “Power is the moral code
-of men who distinguish themselves above others.” And so we hear how
-one person described him as “power personified;” how another said of
-him that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through his eyes:” and
-a third, that “his magnificent forehead was the seat of majestic,
-creative power.” Spurred on by the opposition of “fate,” that is,
-by what nature had denied him, we see this power appear in all its
-concentration and sublimity. The power which has created, and which
-preserves all things, has been called “will,” and music, one of its
-immediate phenomena, while the other arts are only reflections of that
-will, and reflect only the things of the world. In the first movement
-of the symphony in C minor, we feel the presence of this power or
-personal will, to an extent greater than in any other work of art. It
-there appears in fullest action, in all its nobility. The symphony
-might not inappropriately have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
-for it is a veritable head of Jove, such as only a Phidias could
-have imagined. Melody has been described as the history of the will
-illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form of the symphony is just such
-kind of melody. And it is this fifth symphony of Beethoven’s, which,
-more than any other, tells us the most secret history of that personal
-will, of all its strivings and motions. No type in any art, could have
-suggested a Siegfried to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius acts
-as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence of the prototype
-of the Great Spirit. Yet when the work was performed in Paris, Hector
-Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say of it--and this, although he
-was deeply moved by it--“but such music should not be heard.” “Don’t
-be afraid,” was the reply, “there will be little of that kind of
-music written.” How correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
-Siegfried’s _Rheinfahrt_, in the _Goetterdaemmerung_, is music of “that
-kind.”
-
-But it is only the night of sorrow that gives birth to the
-concentration of power. It is only by great effort that this energy
-can be maintained. And as Coriolanus finely presses all the darts
-aimed at him by his mother into her own heart, in defying sacrifice,
-so we find, in the background of this holiest and most manly will, the
-consciousness of the variety and transitory character of all things.
-In his heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has knocked at his
-door, only because in his following the dictates of force and action,
-he has sinned against nature, and that all will is only transitoriness
-and self-deception. The _adagio_ expresses subjection to a higher will.
-The consciousness of this highest act of the will, to sacrifice one’s
-self and yet to preserve one’s freedom, gave birth to the song of
-jubilation in the _finale_ which tells not of the joy and sorrow of one
-heart only; it lifts the freedom which has been praised and sought for
-into the higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony in C minor has
-a significance greater than any mere “work of art.” Like the production
-of religious art, it is a representation of those secret forces which
-hold the world together.
-
-The consciousness of this deeper, intimate dependence of all things on
-one another, is henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the darkness
-which gathered around him, and it continues to beautify and transfigure
-his creations.
-
-The _Pastorale_ immediately followed the symphony in C minor. It
-gives expression to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
-the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature and calm your soul
-by the contemplation of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
-compared with the fifth, is a symphony and nothing more--even if
-it be Beethoven’s--we plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
-spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and character it illustrates
-constitutes in Beethoven’s life the transition from the external beauty
-of nature to the comprehension of the eternal. Over it is written:
-“Recollections of country life,” but also, “More an expression of
-feeling than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved the Rhine,” the young
-playmates of the boy Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself to
-Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful region in which I first saw the
-light as plainly and as beautiful as the moment I left you.” On a
-leaf, written in his own hand, we find the words: “O the charm of the
-woods--who can express it?” But now that he was compelled to live a
-solitary life, nature became to him a mother, sister and sweetheart.
-He looked upon the wonders of nature as into living eyes; she calmed
-him who was naturally of such a stormy temperament, and to whom life
-had been unkind in so many ways. In the _Scene am Bach_ (Scene by the
-Brook), the waters murmur peace to his soul; and the birds by the
-brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where these two symphonies were finished,
-whisper joy. His _Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute_, infuses new
-courage into the heart, and when his _Gewitter und Sturm_, tells of the
-might of the Eternal, the shepherds express their joyful and grateful
-feelings in the words: _Herr wir danken dir_. The _finale_, like the
-_Chorphantasie_ (op. 80), planned in 1800 but not finished until 1808,
-was intended to contain a chorus expressing in words the joyful and
-thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s own personal experience
-is always expressed in his music. A more intimate acquaintance with
-nature gave it to him to find yet deeper expression for the feelings
-which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting change enabled him
-to conceive the eternal and imperishable.
-
-We now turn to a whole series of new and brilliant creations of our
-hero. It would seem as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
-had given him new life.
-
-During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy with the Malfattis and their
-two charming daughters, was a great source of pleasure to him. His
-feelings towards them may be inferred from the following passages in
-his notes to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I feel so well when
-I am with them that they seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
-have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect to find there in the _Wilden
-Mann_ in the park, no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And again: “My
-greetings, to all who are dear to you and to me. How gladly would I
-add--and to whom we are dear???? These points of interrogation are
-becoming, at least in me.” Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
-Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed Theresa, who made her
-debut in society about this time, and whom he writes of as “volatile,
-taking everything in life lightly” but “with so much feeling for all
-that is beautiful and good, and a great talent for music,” he sends
-a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s
-translation of Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse with the
-family had that intellectual foundation which Beethoven could not
-dispense with, on anything. It would even seem as if, in his enthusiasm
-to put his strength to the test of new deeds, even his “eternal loved
-one” should fade from his view.
-
-The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his friend Gleichenstein
-immediately followed the _Pastorale_. The two magnificent trios
-dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he resided at this time,
-follow as op. 70. The first movement of the trio in D major is a
-brilliantly free play of mind and force, while the _adagio_ suggests
-Faust lost in the deep contemplation of nature and its mysteries. The
-whole, on account of the mysterious awe expressed by this movement has
-been called by musicians the _Fledermaustrio_, i. e., the bat-trio.
-The _Leonore_ is numbered op. 72. It was published in 1810. Op. 73,
-the most beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the Archduke
-Rudolph. We have further, op. 74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
-Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op. 77, to his friend
-Brunswick; lastly, the sonata in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly
-valued by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister Theresa. Verily
-“new acts” enough, and what glorious deeds!
-
-This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed a change for the
-better in Beethoven’s pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
-permanent salary. On the 1st of November, 1808, he wrote to the
-Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,--whom he had visited in the fall of 1806,
-in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave him a commission to write
-a symphony, which the count, however, never received--as follows:
-“My circumstances are improving without the assistance of people who
-entertain their friends with blows. I have also been called to act as
-_capellmeister_ to the King of Westphalia, and perhaps I may obey the
-call.” The following December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the
-programme of which embraced the two new symphonies, parts of his Mass,
-the concerto in G minor, and the _Chorphantasie_. He himself improvised
-at the piano. The attention of people far and near was called anew
-to this great and grave master in music, whom the sensualist Jerome
-Bonaparte endeavored to attract to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
-anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s friends bestirred
-themselves to keep him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to stay.
-This is very evident from the letters to Gleichenstein and Erdoedy.
-Three friends of his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote one of
-his greatest works, were instrumental in keeping him in Vienna. They
-were the Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Kinsky, to whose
-wife the six songs, op. 75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed amounted
-to eight thousand marks. “You see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he
-writes, on the 18th of March, 1809, _a propos_ of the “decree” which he
-had received on the 26th of February, from the hands of the archduke,
-and which imposed on him no duty but to remain in Vienna and Austria,
-“how honorable to me my stay here has become.” He could not, however,
-have meant seriously what he added immediately after: “The title of
-imperial _capellmeister_ will come to me also;” for what use had a
-man like the Emperor Franz for such an “innovator” at his court? The
-dedications of his works mentioned above were simply testimonials of
-gratitude for the friendship thus shown him.
-
-He now planned an extensive journey, which was to embrace England,
-and even Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now you can help me get
-a wife. If you find a pretty one--one who may perhaps lend a sigh to
-my harmonies, do the courting for me. But she must be beautiful; I
-cannot love anything that is not beautiful; if I could I should fall
-in love with myself.” The coming war interrupted all his plans. But,
-at the same time, it suggested to the imagination of our artist, that
-wonderful picture of the battle of forces, the seventh (A major)
-symphony (op. 92), which Richard Wagner has called the “apotheosis
-of the dance.” Germany now first saw the picture of a genuinely
-national war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary foe, and
-the whole people, from the highest noble to the meanest peasant rose
-up, as one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The march is, after
-all, only the dance of war, and Beethoven gathered into one picture
-of instrumentation, the glad tramp of warlike hosts, the rhythm of
-trampling steeds, the waving of standards and the sound of trumpets,
-with a luminousness such as the world had never witnessed before. The
-poet needs only see the eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the
-vapor and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven, this joy in the
-game of war was, as the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
-a stimulant to his imagination, which now painted a picture of the
-free play of force and of human existence from the material of recent
-historical events. And even in after years the timeliness of this work
-and the spirit which called it into existence were evident. And, as
-we shall soon see, it constituted the principal part in the musical
-celebration, when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation occurred and
-led to a most decided victory. Personally, Beethoven felt himself
-not inferior to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and, like
-Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening of the national genius which
-overthrew Napoleon. To this second-sight of the prophet, possessed by
-every genuine poet--to this sure presentiment of ultimate triumph--our
-artist owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s greatest ignominy
-and subjection he sang of the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
-jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the Austrians again. But as
-Beethoven first felt the weight and the power of resistance of Germany
-after the battles of Aspern and Wagram, he now depicted (after Napoleon
-had taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and seemed predestined to
-become the despot of all Europe), in the _scherzo_ and _finale_ of
-the seventh symphony, better than ever before, the jubilation of the
-victorious nation, with all its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
-melancholy second part, with its monotonous beats on the _dominante_,
-we think we hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march. This exceedingly
-characteristic theme is found at the very beginning of a sketch-book of
-the year 1809.
-
-Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition in Vienna and all
-Austria. The burthen of taxation was severely felt. Everything was at
-a standstill. When his beloved pupil, the Archduke Rudolph retreated
-from Vienna he wrote the _Lebewohl_ of the sonata op. 81^a; but its
-_finale_ (_die Ankunft_) was not written until the 30th of January,
-1810. The summer was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there was no demand
-for the exercise of his genius. Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger,
-Fux and Albrechtsberger he prepared the _Materiellen zum Generalbass_
-(materials for thorough-bass) for his noble pupil. This work was
-subsequently but wrongly published under the name of _Beethoven’s
-Studien_. On the 8th of September, a charity concert was given at
-which--to the disgrace of the period, be it said, for Napoleon had only
-just left Schoenbrunn--the _Eroica_ was performed, Beethoven himself
-holding the baton. The rest of the summer he hoped to spend in some
-quiet corner in the country. He sojourned sometime with the Brunswicks
-in Hungary, and composed those works of his genius, op. 77 and 78. His
-genius, indeed, seems to have awakened to a new life during this fall
-of 1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh symphony (op. 92) contains
-sketches of the 8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated giving
-another concert at Christmas, at which, of course, only new works
-could be performed. These sketches are followed by drafts for a new
-concerto. On these drafts we find the words: _Polonaise fuer Clavier
-allein_, also _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--“finish the overture”
-and “detached periods like princes are beggars, not the whole.” He
-here takes up once more those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
-conception of their meaning. They constitute the intellectual germ of
-the _finale_ of the ninth symphony. But the melody which he actually
-noted down was elaborated in 1814 into the overture op. 115 (_Zur
-Namensfeier_).
-
-During this period of Germany’s national awakening, the theaters had
-again turned their attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of this
-was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas. He now desired to give _Tell_
-a musical dress. He had already received a commission of this kind
-for the _Egmont_, and, on the occasion of his receiving it, he gave
-expression to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny: “Schiller’s
-poems are exceedingly difficult to set to music. The composer must
-be able to rise high above the poet. But who can rise higher than
-Schiller? Goethe is much easier.” And, indeed, his _Egmont_ overture
-breathes a higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than Goethe’s
-beautiful tragedy. The composition of this music led to his more
-intimate acquaintance with the poet. To this same year, 1810, belong
-the incomparable songs _Kennst du das Land_, and _Herz mein Herz_, in
-op. 75.
-
-This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat mysterious point in
-Beethoven’s life, to his _Heirathspartie_ (marriage speculation).
-
-In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall: “Do you recollect the
-condition I am in--the condition of Hercules before Queen Omphale?
-Farewell, and never again speak of me as the great man, for I never
-felt either the weakness or the strength of human nature as I do now.”
-But writing to Wegeler on the second of May, he says: “For a couple of
-years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful life. I was carried by
-force into the world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps one of the
-very happiest of men, were it not that the demon has taken up his abode
-in my ears. Had I not read somewhere that man should not voluntarily
-take leave of life while he is still able to do one good deed, I should
-long have departed hence, and by my own act. Life is very beautiful,
-but, in my case, it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the certificate
-of his baptism, and this in a manner so urgent that it creates
-surprise. It was three months before the answer to the enigma was
-found, and Breuning wrote that he believed that Beethoven’s engagement
-was broken off. But it continues a mystery, even to this day, who his
-choice was. It has been surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
-or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing certain on this point. True,
-he had now acquired both fame and a position which raised him above all
-fear of want. But she was thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
-In addition to this, there was, on his side, a relationship of the
-nature of which we shall yet have something to say. Her passion, if
-such there was on her part, must have been prudently concealed; and it
-is certainly remarkable that, from this time forward, her name is not
-mentioned by Beethoven. However, her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
-who is still living, expressly writes: “I never heard of any intimate
-relation nor of any love between them, while Beethoven’s profound love
-for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi, was a matter of frequent
-mention.” But Giulietta had at this time long been Countess Gallenberg.
-The solution of this mystery, accordingly, belongs to the future.
-
-On the other hand, we have a few notes to Gleichenstein, who married
-the younger Malfatti, the following year. In one of them we read: “You
-live on still, calm waters--in a safe harbor. You do not feel or should
-not feel the distress of the friend who is caught in the storm. What
-will people think of me in the planet Venus Urania? How can one judge
-of me who has never seen me? My pride is so humbled, that even without
-being ordered to do so, I would travel thither with thee.” And, in the
-other: “The news I received from you cast me down again out of the
-regions of happiness. What is the use of saying that you would send
-me word when there was to be music again? Am I nothing more than a
-musician to you and to others? Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find a
-resting-place. Externally, to myself there is none. No, friendship and
-feelings like it have only pain for me. Be it so, then. Poor Beethoven,
-there is no external happiness for you. You must create your own
-happiness. Only in the ideal world do you find friends.” The sketch of
-that and Klaerchen’s song _Freudvoll und leidvoll_ were found in the
-possession of Theresa Malfatti. When Gleichenstein was engaged, the
-feelings of the man who had been so bitterly deceived overflowed. But
-how could the young girl of eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
-would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died unmarried. Theresa Malfatti
-married, in 1817, one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
-intercourse with the family continued.
-
-We next hear of his acquaintance with Bettina Brentano which led to his
-meeting Goethe in person.
-
-Her brother Francis had married a Miss Birkenstock, of Vienna.
-Beethoven had been long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
-family. Bettina Brentano herself was betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and
-her deep love of music had inspired her with a genuine affection for
-Beethoven. One beautiful day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
-of heart, went, in company with her married sister, Mrs. Savigny, to
-Beethoven and met with the very best reception. He sang for her _Kennst
-du das Land_, with a sharp and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
-“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are touched by something good. But
-such men have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery and do not
-weep.” He escorted her home to Brentano’s, and after this they met
-every day.
-
-Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account of the impression made on
-her by Beethoven’s appearance and conversation. Her charming letters
-are to be found in the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. They show how exalted
-an idea Beethoven had of his own high calling. She writes: “He feels
-himself to be the founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
-life of man. He begets the undreamt-of and the uncreated. What can such
-a man have to do with the world? Sunrise finds him at his blessed
-day’s work, and at sunset he is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
-even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor or King is as conscious of
-his power and of the fact that all power proceeds from him, as is this
-man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who “loved to contemplate and fix in memory
-the picture of real genius,” who well knew “that his intellect was
-even greater than his genius, and who frequently throws from himself a
-luminousness like that of lightning, so that we can scarcely tell, as
-we sit in the darkness, from what side the day may break,” invited him
-to Carlsbad, whither he was wont to go every year.
-
-The two remarkable letters to Bettina of the 11th of August, 1810,
-and the 10th of February, 1811, the autographs of which have since
-been found, show us how deeply the heart of our artist was stirred
-by love at this time. They are to be found in “Beethoven Letters.” A
-work of his composed about this time, the _Quartetto serioso_, op.
-95, of October, 1810, throws some light on this love, and yet it
-rises far above the pain and the sorrow of the situation in which
-he found himself. Heavy thunders announce Vulcan at work; but in the
-_finale_, how Beethoven’s giant mind frees itself from itself! The
-noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates from the spring of 1811,
-and, especially in the _adagio_, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
-bliss. But the fact that in this period no other compositions were
-written would go to show the influence of bitter experience. It may
-be, however, that the commission he received for the plays “The Ruins
-of Athens” and “King Stephen,” took up the best portion of his time;
-and, besides, the two symphonies had to be finished. The song _An die
-Geliebte_ also belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
-draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish sonata for the violin
-which was finished in 1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
-celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.
-
-Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up the summer of 1811, but
-they were not put upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At the same
-time, an opera was wanted for Vienna. It was the “Ruins of Babylon.”
-He also received an invitation to Naples, where Count Gallenberg
-was director of the theater. We next find him traveling to Teplitz,
-a bathing place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance with
-Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
-maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was stopping with Elise.
-Amalie had a charming voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
-endowments as for her beauty of physique. Beethoven, spite of his many
-disappointments, was greatly taken with her. Her picture is before
-us. Her eye betokens intellect and nobility of soul, and her mouth
-extreme loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to Tiedge: “Press
-the Countess’s hand for me very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
-Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is looking.” He did not see
-Goethe on this occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following year,
-when his meeting--of which so much has been said and written--“with
-the most precious jewel of the German nation,” as he called Goethe,
-when writing to Bettina, occurred. We can here give only the principal
-incidents of that event.
-
-The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter, the Empress of France,
-the King of Saxony, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great many Princes
-were there. The company already in the place was joined by Goethe, the
-jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von Arnim, together with his
-charming wife, Bettina. Beethoven himself writes on the 12th of August,
-1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:
-
-  “I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And the poet, writing
-  to Zelter, passes the following judgment on Beethoven: “I became
-  acquainted with Beethoven in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
-  me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed character. He is
-  not, indeed, wrong in finding the world detestable. Still, his
-  finding it detestable does not make it any more enjoyable either to
-  himself or to others. But he is very excusable and much to be pitied.
-  His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature laconic, and this defect
-  is making him doubly so.”
-
-The remarkable incident related in the third letter to Bettina, a
-letter which has been widely read and the authenticity of which
-has been much contested--for the original does not seem to be
-extant--Bettina herself describes in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau.
-Goethe, she says, who had received many marks of attention from the
-Princes present, was desirous of testifying his special devotion to
-the Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions” signified to
-Beethoven that he should do the same. But Beethoven replied: “What! You
-must not do so. You must let them clearly understand what they possess
-in you; for if you do not, they will never find it out. I have taken
-quite a different course.” And then he told how his Archduke once sent
-him word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he went away. Princes
-might indeed, he said, decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
-make a man a court counsellor, but they could never make a Goethe or a
-Beethoven. To such men they owed respect. The whole court now came in.
-Beethoven said to Goethe: “Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
-But Goethe left him and stood aside with his hat in his hand, while
-Beethoven, with folded arms, went through the midst of them and only
-touched his hat. The court party separated to make place for him, and
-they had all a friendly greeting for our artist. He stood and waited
-at the other end for Goethe, who bowed profoundly as the court party
-passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have waited for you, because I
-honor and respect you, as you deserve, but you have done them too much
-honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven ran to them, and told them all that
-had happened.
-
-That his behavior, on this occasion, was not by any means dictated
-by any over-estimation of himself, but by a deep human feeling of
-equality--an equality which the artist finds it harder than any one
-else to assert and acquire--the whole course of Beethoven’s life, as
-well as his intercourse with people at this bathing place at Teplitz,
-proves. He there found Miss Sebald again. A series of very tender
-notes written to her tells us of his heartfelt and good understanding
-with this refined and clever North German lady, who made greater
-allowances for his natural disposition than were wont to be made. He
-writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure, I shall never possess.”
-His admission that, for five years--that is from 1811,--he had known
-a lady to be united to whom he would have esteemed it the greatest
-happiness he could have on earth, was made in this same year. But, he
-added, that was a happiness not to be thought of; union with her was
-an impossibility, a chimera! And yet he closed with the words: “It is
-still as it was the first day I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought
-of her from my mind.” He did not know that Amalie Sebald had been the
-wife of a councillor of justice named Krause. Again did he give vent to
-his feeling in the songs _An die ferne Geliebte_--“to the distant loved
-one”--which bear the date; “in the month of April, 1816.”
-
-This was the last time that Beethoven seriously concerned himself
-about marriage. Fate would indeed have it that he should soon become a
-“father,” but without a wife. Yet no matter what the personal wishes
-of our artist through the rest of his life may have been, or what the
-wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed on a lofty goal; and it was
-in the ideal world that he found his real friends. He finished the
-seventh symphony, and after it the eighth, in this fall of 1812. The
-coquettish _allegretto scherzando_ of the latter was suggested by
-the Maelzl metronome invented a short time before, and the strange
-minuet with its proud step is a hit at the high court society whom
-Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times of the old regime, when
-the principle _l’état c’est moi_ obtained in society, were passed.
-These works are clearly expressive of the free and progressive spirit
-of a new and better age. It was the seventh symphony especially that,
-in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven himself the hearts of that
-age. This symphony helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
-by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven now entered a new stage of
-development, and rose to his full height as an artist and a man. Other
-works composed by Beethoven during this period are the following: 82
-variations (1806-7); _In questa tomba_ (1807); _sonatine_ (op. 79);
-variations op. 76 and _Lied aus der Ferne_ (composed 1809); _die laute
-Klage_ (probably 1809); Sextett op. 8^b. _Andenken_, _Sehnsucht_ by
-Goethe; _der Liebende_, _der Juengling in der Fremde_ (appeared in
-1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed in 1810); Scotch songs
-(commenced in 1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811); trio in
-one movement and three _equale_ for four trombones, (composed in 1812)
-the latter of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s burial.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-1813-1823.
-
-THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
-
-  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
-    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Beethoven’s Own Estimate of
-    It--Wellington’s Victory--Strange Conduct--Intellectual
-    Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The Fidelio Before the
-    Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object of Universal
-    Attention--Presents from Kings--Works Written in 1814 and
-    1815--The Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--His Nephew--Romulus
-    and the Oratorio--His “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Commission
-    from London--Opinion of the English People--His Songs--His Missa
-    Solemnis--His Own Opinion of It--Its
-    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony.
-
-
-“Resignation, the most absolute and heartfelt resignation to thy fate!
-Thou shouldst not live for thyself, but only for others. Henceforth
-there is no happiness for thee, but in thy art. O God, grant me
-strength to conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me to life.” With
-this cry of the heart, taken _verbatim_ from his diary of 1812,
-Beethoven consecrated himself to the noble task which after this he
-never lost sight of--of writing “for the honor of the Almighty, the
-Eternal, the Infinite.”
-
-The national bankruptcy of Austria did not leave Beethoven unaffected.
-It compelled him, besides, to come to the assistance of his sick
-brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore, that he felt called upon
-to undertake, in order to provide himself with the mere means of
-subsistence, was the public representation of his new compositions.
-It was not long before an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
-an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations to the dignity of one
-of the motive powers of the national life of the period. The star of
-Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the gigantic struggle begun
-to bring about the overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted the
-sympathy and active participation of our artist.
-
-“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain as I am! O, what a
-difference between the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
-often! O, horrible circumstances which do not suppress my desire to
-be thrifty, but which keep one from being so. O, God! O, God! look
-down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let this last no longer as it is.” Thus
-did he write in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher, interested
-herself in him in his pecuniary embarrassment, which was so great
-that at one time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots to leave
-the house in. He writes: “I do not deserve to be in the condition I
-am--the most unfortunate of my life.” The payments due him from Kinsky
-did not come, because of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s love of
-music and the theater had greatly embarrassed him financially. Even
-the giving of a concert which he contemplated had to be abandoned in
-consequence of the bad times.
-
-The idea of a journey to London now took possession of him all the
-more strongly because of the straits to which he was reduced. This
-journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking” referred to above. It
-is deserving of special mention here, because to it we are indebted for
-the ninth symphony.
-
-Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had built a panharmonicum, and
-was anxious to make the journey to London in company with Beethoven.
-He had had the burning of Moscow set for his instrument; and he
-now wanted a musical representation of the next great event of the
-time--Wellington’s victory at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to
-Beethoven. Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and love of England induced
-him to adopt it, and this was the origin of the _Schlachtsymphonie_
-(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance with Maelzl’s proposition,
-he elaborated what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
-instrumental composition. It was performed before a large audience “for
-the benefit of the warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
-And--, irony of fate!--a work which Beethoven himself declared to be a
-“piece of stupidity,” took the Viennese by storm, and at a bound, made
-him very popular in Vienna.
-
-It was performed on the 12th of December, 1813. The applause was
-unbounded. All the best artists of the city were with him. Salieri,
-Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh, Mayseder, and even strangers like
-Meyerbeer, assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the ideal foundation
-of the entire production, for that symphony was the expression of the
-awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation. Anton Schindler, of whom
-we have already spoken more than once, and of whom we shall have more
-to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s companion, writes: “All hitherto
-dissenting voices, with the exception of a few professors of music,
-finally agreed that he was worthy of the laurel crown.” He rightly
-calls the production of this piece one of the most important events in
-Beethoven’s life; for now the portals of the temple of fame were opened
-wide to receive him; and if he had had nothing “nobler or better” than
-this to do in life, he certainly would never again feel the want of the
-good things of this world.
-
-His next concern was to turn the occasion of the moment to advantage,
-to give some concerts with _Wellington’s Victory_, and thus obtain
-leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins of Athens” also were played
-at these concerts. The success of one aria in particular from that
-composition suggested to one of the singers of the court-opera the
-idea of reviving the _Fidelio_. It then received the form in which
-we have it to-day. And what a hold the character of Leonore still
-had on our artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the dramatic
-poet, Treitschke, who again tried to abridge the text. He had given
-expression to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
-dungeon, in the words:
-
-  “Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?
-    Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?
-  Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft
-    Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,
-  Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,
-  Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”
-
-“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will never fade from my memory.
-Beethoven came to me in the evening. He read, ran up and down the
-room, murmured, growled, as he usually did instead of singing, and
-tore open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently begged him in vain to
-play. To-day he placed the text before him and began playing wonderful
-melodies, which unfortunately no charm could preserve. The hour passed.
-Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation. Supper was served but
-he would allow no one to disturb him. It grew quite late. He then put
-his arms about me and hurried home. A few days after the piece was
-finished.”
-
-At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My kingdom is in the air. My
-soul trills as the winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short I assure
-you, the opera will win the crown of martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s
-sorrows and victory found expression a second time; for now the
-so-called _Fidelio_ overture (E major) was composed. At its performance
-on the 23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the very first act,
-enthusiastically called for and enthusiastically greeted. The applause
-increased with every succeeding performance.
-
-Beethoven was now one of the best known characters in Vienna. He
-had, even before this, given several concerts of his own, and at
-several others music composed by him had been performed. His picture
-by Letronne appeared at this time. “It is as natural as life,” said
-Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the 26th of September, received with his
-music of the _Fidelio_, the assemblage of monarchs who had come to
-attend the Congress of Vienna; and what was more natural than that
-he should now greet them with something new in the nature of festal
-music? He did this with the cantata, _der Glorreiche Augenblick_
-(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production of it took place
-in the ever memorable Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814, when
-Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,” and what was more, before
-the educated of Europe, by the mere assistance of his art, helped
-celebrate the solemn moment which did away with oppression and tyranny
-and marked the beginning of a new and happier period. His audience
-was numbered by thousands, and “the respectful absence of all loud
-signs of applause gave the whole the character of worship. Every one
-seemed to feel that never again would there be such a moment in his
-life.” This extract is from Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places
-“the ecstasy of all present found expression in the loudest applause,
-applause which drowned the powerful accompaniment of the composer.” The
-_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony) as well as the seventh symphony,
-contributed to the achievement of this victory. After it was over, he
-wrote to the archduke: “I am still exhausted by fatigue, vexation,
-pleasure and joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering impression
-made on him by those days, we must refer to his diary of the following
-spring, when all that he had then experienced took a definite form in
-his feelings and consciousness. He then writes:
-
-  “May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May it be a sanctuary
-  of art.... Let me live, even if I have to have recourse to
-  ‘assistance,’ and such means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be
-  perfected if possible, and then travel! This you owe to man and the
-  Almighty. Only thus can you develop what is locked up within you.
-  The court of a prince, a little orchestra to write music for, and to
-  produce it, for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
-  Thus may my last years pass away, and to future humanity....”
-
-He breaks off here as if he did not need to express an opinion on what
-he aimed at achieving and left after him as an inheritance. But the
-reputation which he had acquired is correctly described as “one of
-the greatest ever won by a musician.” And now, more than ever before,
-he was the object of universal attention, especially at the brilliant
-entertainments given by the Russian ambassador, count Rasumowsky, to
-the monarchs present, on one of which occasions he was presented to
-them. The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a special “compliment.”
-She did so at the palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
-celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher. At a court concert on
-the 25th of January, 1815, he accompanied the _Adelaide_ for Florestan
-Wild himself; and Schindler closes his account of it with the words:
-“The great master recalled those days with much feeling, and with a
-certain pride once said that he had made the great pay their court to
-him, and that with them he had always preserved his dignity.” He thus
-verified what, as we saw alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
-them clearly understand what they possess in you.”
-
-The “assistance” he longed for came in the form of presents from
-monarchs, especially of the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of Russia,
-for whom he, at that time, wrote the polonaise, op. 89. These presents
-enabled him to make a permanent investment of twenty thousand marks,
-which his friends were very much surprised to find he owned, after
-his death. But, although by “decree” he drew yearly the sum of 2,700
-marks, his principal source of income continued to be derived from his
-intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved brother Karl died and left
-him, as an inheritance, so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
-after his father--the mother not being a fit person to take care of the
-child, and, besides, not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
-struggles for his “son,” _the unfortunate nephew_, with the mother,
-whom he was wont to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
-succeeding years of his life with legal controversies and negotiations
-to such an extent that they seem to have hindered him in his work.
-Extreme trouble of mind, brought about by the social and political
-degeneration of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon entirely
-obscured the lustre of the days we have just described; and it was
-only for short moments of time, as on the occasion of the celebrated
-concert of the year 1824, that we see his old pride and fame revive.
-The works performed at that concert were the _Missa Solemnis_ and the
-Ninth Symphony. The former was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
-Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a reflection of the soul of the
-artist himself as we have heard him describe it above. The symphony
-was written “for London;” whither in these saddening times his eyes
-were directed, and which, although he never undertook the contemplated
-journey thither, became the incentive to the composition of many
-important works.
-
-Among the works which date from 1814 and 1815, we may mention the
-sonata, op. 90, a “struggle between the head and the heart,” addressed
-in the summer of 1814 to Count Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his
-marriage to a Vienna singer; the song _Merkenstein_ (op. 100), composed
-in the winter of 1814; Tiedge’s _Hoffnung_ (op. 94), composed after
-the last court concert for the singer Wild; the chorus _Meeresstille
-und Glueckliche Fahrt_ (op. 112), which was written in 1815, and in
-1822, “most respectfully dedicated to the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the
-magnificent cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, who
-became reconciled with him once more during this winter, after there
-had been a variance between them for a time. He calls the first of
-these sonatas the “free sonata,” and, indeed, freedom now became the
-characteristic of his higher artistic pictures. The _adagio_ of the
-second discloses to us, in the choral-like construction of its theme,
-the prevailing religious direction taken by his thoughts, which is also
-apparent in very many expressions and quotations to be found in his
-diary.
-
-We have already mentioned the _Liederkreis_, op. 98. Beethoven worked
-at it and at the sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter, an
-expression of the deepest poetry of the soul, was ready the following
-year, and was dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear Dorothea
-Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly understood the meaning of
-Beethoven’s music, became a real propagandist of his compositions for
-the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn could say that he had “learned much”
-from her deeply expressive execution. The noble lady had lost her only
-son during the absence of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
-and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition of mind bordering on
-melancholy, by coming to her and playing for her until she burst into
-tears. “The spell was broken.” “We finite creatures with an infinite
-mind are born only for suffering and for joy; and we might almost say
-that the best of human kind obtain joy only through their sorrow.”
-Thus spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and this little incident
-confirms its truth. His own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
-musical creations, and these creations were to him “the dearest gift of
-heaven,” and, as it were, a consolation from on high.
-
-But to continue our biography.
-
-When, after a violent contest with the mother, he was made sole
-guardian of his nephew, and could then call him his own, he seems, as a
-lady whose diary is embodied in the little book _Eine stille Liebe zu
-Beethoven_, informs us, to gain new life. He devoted himself heart and
-soul to the boy, and he wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
-care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow. We can readily understand
-how it came to pass that he now penned the words found by the lady
-just mentioned, in a memorandum book of his: “My heart overflows at
-the aspect of the beauties of nature--and this without her.” His
-“distant loved one” was still to him the most valued possession of his
-life--more to him, even, than himself.
-
-He had now in view several great projects--among them an opera,
-_Romulus_, by Treitschke, and an oratorio for the recently founded
-“Society of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna. The latter failed,
-through the niggardliness of the directors, and the former was not
-finished, although our artist never gave up the intention of completing
-it. In the autumn of 1816, an English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
-write a symphony, for two hundred ducats. But as the general wanted it
-written in the style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself refused to
-accept the commission. Yet this narrow English enthusiast had excited
-Beethoven’s imagination with glowing accounts of the harvest of profit
-he might reap in England, and as Beethoven had recently sold many
-of his works there, and as, besides, the new “Philharmonic Society”
-had handsomely remunerated him for these overtures, his intention
-of crossing the Channel began to assume a more definite form. His
-_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony), especially, had already met
-with a very flattering reception in England. And a project was on foot
-in that country, even now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
-of his own works; and such a “benefit” was actually given for him
-there when he was on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it would
-flatter him to be able to write some new works, such as symphonies and
-an oratorio, for the Society which embraced a greater number of able
-musicians than almost any other in Europe.
-
-His diary covering this period to 1818, published in the work _Die
-Beethovenfeier und die deutsche Kunst_, because of the many items of
-interest it has in it, contains these characteristic lines: “Drop
-operas and everything else. Write only in your own style.” But even
-the sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark accompanying them:
-“2. Symphony in D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony in D
-minor--3. Symphony.” Belonging to the years succeeding 1812, we find
-drafts of the _scherzo_ of the Ninth Symphony. The headings above given
-undoubtedly had reference to this last, but the sketches of the first
-movement, decisive of the character of such a work, are not to be found
-until the year 1816, but then they are found with the physiognomy so
-masculine and so full of character which distinguishes this “symphony
-for London.” He once said of Englishmen that they were, for the most
-part, “clever fellows;” and he--of whom Zelter wrote to Goethe, that
-“he must have had a man for his mother”--felt that, in England, he,
-as a man, had to do with men, and, as an artist, to enter the list
-with Handel, whose own powerful influence was due to his decided
-manfulness of character. And then, had not England produced a tragic
-poet like Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all others? Deep,
-tragic earnestness, and a masculine struggle with fate, are here the
-fundamental tone and design of the whole. “And then a cowl when thou
-closest thy unhappy life”--such is the conclusion of the lines quoted
-above, in which he says that he must write “only in his own style.”
-
-And now, in July, 1817, came from London the “direct commission” he had
-so long endeavored to obtain. The Society desired to send him a proof
-of their esteem and gratitude for the many happy moments his works had
-given them to enjoy, and invited him to come to London to write two
-great symphonies, promising him an honorarium of three hundred pounds
-sterling. Beethoven immediately accepted the commission, and assured
-them that he would do his very best to execute it--honorable as it was
-to him, and coming as it did from so select a society of artists--in
-the worthiest manner possible. He promised to go to work immediately.
-“He believed that he could nowhere receive the distinction which his
-gigantic genius--in advance of his age by several centuries--deserved,
-as he could in Great Britain. The respect shown him by the English
-people, he valued more than that of all Europe besides. The feeling he
-had of his own powers may, indeed, have contributed to make him prefer
-the English nation to all others, especially as they showered so many
-marks of distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his most intimate
-friends in Vienna, Baron Von Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain
-it is that he did his very best on this work. It, as well as the
-symphony in C minor, is of the true Beethoven type--more so, perhaps,
-than any other of his works--the full picture of his own personal
-existence and of the tragedy of human life in general. This work was
-followed by the Tenth Symphony, the “poetical idea,” at least, of
-which we know. The first movement was intended to represent a “feast of
-Bacchus,” the _adagio_ a _cantique ecclesiastique_, a church hymn, and
-the _finale_ the reconciliation of the antique world, which he esteemed
-so highly with the spirit of Christianity, into the full depth of which
-he came to have a deeper insight every day that passed. We see that he
-had lofty plans, and that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights than
-he. We must bear these great plans and labors of Beethoven in mind if
-we would rightly understand his subsequent life--if we would comprehend
-how, in the desolate and distracted existence he was compelled
-henceforth to lead, he did not become a victim of torpidity, but that,
-on the contrary, the elasticity of his genius grew greater and greater,
-and that his creations gained both in depth and perfection.
-
-Thus do we see with our own eyes at least one of his works born of his
-own life.
-
-The songs _Ruf von Berge_ and _So oder so_, were composed in the winter
-of 1816-17; and in the following spring, after the sudden death of one
-of his friends, the chorus _Rasch tritt der Tod_, from Schiller’s
-Tell. “O God, help me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind. O hard
-fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no, my unhappy condition will never
-end. Thou hast no means of salvation but to leave here. Only by so
-doing canst thou rise to the height of thy art. Here thou art immersed
-in vulgarity. Only one symphony, and then away, away, away!” Thus
-does he write in his diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
-fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great sonata for the Hammer-clavier,
-op. 106. The _adagio_ of the latter is the musical expression of
-earnest prayer to God. Its first movement shows how he had soared
-once more to the heights of his art. “The sonata was written under
-vexatious circumstances,” he says to his friend Ries; and to a younger
-fellow-artist, the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go on. There is
-no calmer, more unalloyed or purer joy than that which arises from
-ascending higher and higher into the heaven of art.” Such, too, was
-his mood in those days when he promised his friend Zmeskall the trio
-for the piano in C minor, his op. 1, worked over into the quintet op.
-104; for he wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave, without
-music, every day.” In keeping with this is the song, _Lisch aus, mein
-Licht_, “Put out my light,” which also belongs to this period. The
-supplication: “O hear me always, Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
-unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all mortals,” found in his
-diary, belongs to this same time. It is now easy to see that he was in
-a very suitable frame of mind when he resolved, in 1818, to write a
-solemn mass for the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
-pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz. It was the “little court,” the “little
-orchestra” for which he wished to write the music “for the honor of
-the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of
-making him his _capellmeister_ there. After four years’ labor, the
-_Missa Solemnis_, op. 123, was finished. Beethoven called it “_l’œuvre
-le plus accompli_, my most finished work.” And, like the _Fidelio_, it
-is deserving of this characterization, but more on account of the pains
-taken with it and the labor expended on it than of its matter.
-
-“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social life to thy art. O, God
-above all! For Providence eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
-or unhappiness of mortal men.” With these words from the Odyssey, he
-resolved to consecrate himself to this great work. And it was a resolve
-in very deed. For, as in opera, he knew that he was here bound by
-traditionary forms--forms which, indeed, in some details afforded rich
-food to his own thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered the natural
-flow of his fancy. We now approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
-which he was strangely secluded from the world. The painter, Kloeber,
-the author of the best known portrait of Beethoven, and which is to
-be found in _Beethoven’s Brevier_--it was painted during the summer
-of 1818--once saw him throw himself under a fir tree and look for a
-longtime “up into the heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
-conversations--for it was now necessary for him to have recourse to
-putting his conversations on paper more frequently on account of his
-increasing deafness--he wrote in the winter of 1819-20: “Socrates and
-Jesus were patterns to me;” and after that: “The moral law within us
-and the starry heavens above us.--Kant!!!” Just as on the 4th of March,
-1820, he wrote:
-
-  “Ernte bald an Gottes Thron
-  Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”
-
-This was the time of the struggles with the mother of his “son” and of
-the heartfelt sorrow he had to endure on account of the moral ruin of
-the poor boy himself, who, always going from the one to the other, did
-not really know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore, deceived both.
-“From the heart--may it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these words
-on the score of the mass; and Schindler, who was now his companion,
-says that “the moment he began this work his whole nature seemed to
-change.” He would sit in the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
-to order his meals, and then want to pay for them. “Some say he is
-a fool,” wrote Zelter to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us “he
-actually seemed possessed in those days, especially when he wrote the
-fugue and the _Benedictus_.” That fugue, _Et vitam senturi_ (life
-everlasting!) is the climax of the work, since the depiction of the
-imperishableness and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s
-powerful mind was most used to. The wonderful _Benedictus_, (Blessed
-is he who cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones seem to float
-down from heaven to earth, the bestowal of help from on high, was
-subsequently the model used by Wagner for his descent of the Holy
-Grail, the symbol of divine grace, in the prelude to the _Lohengrin_.
-“When I recall his state of mental excitement, I must confess that I
-never before, and never after this period of his complete forgetfulness
-of earth, observed anything like it in him.” So says Schindler. They
-had gone to visit him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired in the
-interest of his health, and where he loved so well to “wander through
-the quiet forest of firs” and think out his works. It was four o’clock
-in the afternoon. The door was closed, and they could hear him
-“singing, howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they had listened to
-this “almost horrible” scene, the door opened, and Beethoven stood
-before them, with trouble depicted on his countenance. He looked as
-if he had just gone through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
-doings here; everybody is gone, and I have not eaten a morsel since
-yesterday noon,” he said. He had worked the previous evening until
-after midnight; and so the food had grown cold and the servants left in
-disgust.
-
-His work assumed greater and greater dimensions as he himself gradually
-rose to the full height of the subject. He no longer thought of
-completing it for the installation ceremonies. It became a grand fresco
-painting--a symphony in choruses on the words of the mass. He now
-began to work more calmly, and to compose at intervals other works,
-in order to quiet his over-excited mind and to earn a living for his
-“dear” nephew. And thus, while he was composing his mass, he produced
-not only the _Variirten Themen_, op. 105 and 107, which Thompson, of
-Edinburg--who had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs like op. 108 to be
-arranged--had ordered, but also the three _Last Sonatas_, op. 109,
-dedicated to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to whose excellent
-father he was indebted for ready assistance during these years of his
-pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which was finished at Christmas,
-1821, as op. 111 was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said that
-he entertained a higher opinion himself of these sonatas than of his
-previous ones. They are greatly superior, however, only in some of
-their movements; and they are written in the grand, free style of that
-period, especially the _arietta_ in the last opus, the variations of
-which are real pictures of his own soul. In the intervals between
-them, however, we find some trifles such as the _Bagatellen_, op. 119,
-which his pecuniary condition made it imperative he should compose,
-since, “as a brave knight by his sword, he had to live by his pen.”
-And even the “_33 Veraenderungen_” (variations), op. 120, on the works
-of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the intellectual play of
-the inexhaustible fancy of an artist than the work of the genuine
-gigantic creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly possessed. He had
-overtaxed his strength working on the mass, and thus exhausted it for
-a moment. The two chorus-songs, op. 121^b and op. 122, the _Opferlied_
-and _Bundeslied_, which date from the year 1822-23, bear the stamp of
-occasional compositions, which they, in fact, are.
-
-But in the meantime the lion had roused himself again. He now only
-needed to give the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the spring of
-1823 the entire work was completed. The summer of 1822 found him fully
-engaged on the composition of that monument to his genius, the Ninth
-Symphony. Freedom from the torment of exhausting labor, and the entire
-surrender of himself to “his own style,” gave his fancy back its old
-elasticity and all its productive power. Scarcely any year of his life
-was more prolific of works than this year 1822.
-
-“Our Beethoven seems again to take a greater interest in music, which,
-since the trouble with his hearing began to increase, he avoided almost
-as a woman-hater avoids the sex. To the great pleasure of all, he
-improvised a few tunes in a most masterly manner.” Thus do we read in
-the Leipzig _Musikzeitung_, in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
-John Russell, gives us a charming description of such an evening in
-the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. Weisse’s droll poem, _Der Kuss_ (the kiss)
-op. 128, is found among the serious sketches of this year. And now he
-received a whole series of commissions. An English captain, named
-Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic
-poem worthy of his art, before he “hung up his harp forever.” Others
-asked for other kinds of music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
-Johann, “people are fighting to get works from me, happy, unhappy
-man that I am. If my health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
-my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him, too, a commission from
-Breitkopf and Haertel to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives us a
-very interesting account of Beethoven’s appearance and whole mode of
-life at this time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage exterior,
-he says, not his bushy black hair, which hung bristling about his head,
-would have stirred him; what stirred him was the whole appearance of
-the deaf man who, notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to the
-hearts of millions--pure, intellectual joy. But when he received the
-commission, he raised his hand high up and exclaimed: “That might be
-worth while. But I have been intending for some time to write three
-other great works--two great symphonies, very different from each
-other, and an oratorio. I shudder at the thought of beginning works of
-such magnitude. But once engaged on them, I shall find no difficulty.”
-He spoke of the Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun to give the
-finishing touches, in all earnestness.
-
-This was interrupted for a short time by the overture, _Zur Weihe des
-Hauses_ (op. 124), for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt theater
-with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812. It is the portal to the temple
-in which art is praised as something consecrated to the service of
-mankind--as a thing which may lift us for blissful moments into the
-region of the purifying and elevating influences of higher powers.
-Even in this work, which dates from September, 1822, we may hear the
-solemn sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony. And, indeed, after a
-memorandum on the “Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches of it the
-words, “Finale, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_,” together with the
-wonderfully simple melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s better
-self like the music of its own redemption. Beethoven’s own nature was
-deeply moved at this time. Weber’s _Freischuetz_, with Wilhelmine
-Schroeder, afterwards so celebrated, had excited the greatest
-enthusiasm. Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like an opeotheosis;”
-and Beethoven was determined to let the light of his genius shine
-forth, which he could do only by writing a work “in his own style.”
-The world was “his for another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
-that evening to account. And, indeed, had he not a world of sorrows
-to paint--sorrows which actual life had brought to him? He had also a
-world of joys--joys vouchsafed to him by his surrendering of himself to
-a higher life.
-
-An incident which occurred during this fall of 1822 tells us
-something of this gloomy night of his personal existence. Young
-Schroeder-Devrient, encouraged by her success with _Pamina_ and
-_Agathe_, had chosen the _Fidelio_ for her benefit, and Beethoven
-himself was to wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even during
-the first scene of the opera, everything was in confusion, but that
-no one cared to utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible for you,
-unfortunate man.” Schindler finally, in response to Beethoven’s
-own questioning, wrote something to that effect down. In a trice,
-Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying only: “Quick, out of here!”
-He ran without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself on the sofa,
-covered his face with his two hands, and remained in that position
-until called to table. But, even at table, he did not utter a word. He
-sat at it, the picture of the deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account
-of the incident closes thus: “In all my experience with Beethoven,
-this November day is without a parallel. It mattered not what
-disappointments or crosses misfortune brought him, he was ill-humored
-only for moments, sometimes depressed. He would, however, soon be
-himself again, lift his head proudly, walk about with a firm step, and
-rule in the workshop of his genius. But he never fully recovered from
-the effect of this blow.”
-
-The performance itself brought out, for the first time, in all its
-completeness, musico-dramatic art, in the representation of the scene,
-“Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner, who has so highly developed this
-musico-dramatic art, admits that he acquired the real idea of plastic
-shaping for the stage from Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
-owed it that he was invited, during the same winter (1822-23), to
-compose a new opera. It was Grillparzer’s _Melusine_, but the intention
-to compose it was never carried into effect.
-
-We have now reached the zenith of the life of Beethoven as an artist.
-Besides the Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five last quartets
-which beam in their numerous movements like “the choir of stars about
-the sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition of these last came
-to him just at this time from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
-him a commission to write them, telling him at the same time to ask
-what remuneration he wished for his work. But the Symphony filled up
-the next following year, 1823. Nothing else, except the “fragmentary
-ideas” of the _Bagatellen_, op. 126, engaged him during that time.
-
-“To give artistic form only to what we wish and feel, that most
-essential want of the nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself to
-the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes this mighty symphony, and
-constitutes, so to speak, the sum and substance of his own life and
-intuition. This symphony was soon connected in popular imagination with
-Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic course of human existence.
-
-And when we hear in mind how closely related just here the musician was
-to the poet, this interpretation of the work, given first by Richard
-Wagner on the occasion of its presentation in 1846 in Dresden, seems
-entirely warranted. What was there of which life had not deprived him?
-The words it had always addressed to him were these words from Faust:
-_Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren_ (renounce thou must, thou must
-renounce). He now wished to paint a full picture of this vain struggle
-with relentless fate in tones, and what he had just gone through in
-his own experience enabled him to do it in living colors. All the
-recollections of his youth crowded upon him. There were the “pretty
-lively blonde” whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta, who had a
-short time before returned to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
-loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through the lovely Heiligenstadt
-valley, in the spring of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures of
-the reconciling power of nature, as well as of the _Pastorale_ and
-the C minor symphony. He was now able to form an idea of their common
-meaning, and to put an interpretation on them very different from his
-first idea and first interpretation of them. He began to have a much
-deeper insight into the ultimate questions and enigmas of existence.
-
-But, all of a sudden, his humor left him. He refused to receive any
-visitors. “Samothracians, come not here; bring no one to me,” he wrote
-to Schindler, from the scene of his quiet life in the country. What
-had never happened before, even when he was in the highest stages of
-intellectual exaltation, now came to pass: he repeatedly returned from
-his wanderings through the woods and fields without his hat. “There is
-nothing higher than to approach nearer to the Deity than other men, and
-from such proximity to spread the rays of the Deity among the human
-race.” In these words, directed to the Archduke Rudolph, he summed
-up his views of his art and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
-was everything to him--a language, consolation, admonition, light and
-prophecy.
-
-This we learn most clearly from the Ninth Symphony, which he finished
-at this time, in Baden.
-
-From the dark abyss of nothing arises the Will, infinite Will: and with
-it the struggles and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer personal
-sorrow--for what is personal sorrow compared with the sorrow of the
-world as known to a great mind, experienced by a great heart?--it
-is the struggle for a higher existence which we “mortals have to
-engage in against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time did I curse my
-Creator because he has made his creatures the victims of the merest
-accidents.” Cries of anguish and anger like this--the cries of great
-souls whose broad vision is narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
-will is hampered--find utterance here. “I shall take fate by the
-jaws,” he says again, and how immense is the struggle as well as the
-consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession, which lives as a
-promise in the breasts of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
-such despair; and then, again, such strength and courage after trial,
-had never before been expressed in music. In the Ninth Symphony, we
-hear the voices of the powers which through all ages have been the
-makers of history; of the powers which preserve and renovate the life
-of humanity; and so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
-effort and concentration of self, stands firmly before us, bold and
-clear-eyed--for Will is the world itself.
-
-But when we see the man Beethoven, we find him divided against himself.
-We have often heard him say that he found the world detestable; and
-we shall again hear him express his opinion on that subject plainly
-enough, in this his work.
-
-In the second movement, which he himself calls only _allegro vivace_,
-and which, indeed, is no _scherzo_, not even a Beethoven-like one, but
-rather a painting, we have a dramatic picture of the earthly world
-in the whirl of its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of mere
-existence--such as he himself frequently experienced in such fullness
-that he leaped over chairs and tables--to the raging, uncontrollable
-Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment. But we have in it also a fresco
-painting of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in the existing, of
-exultation and jubilation as well as of the demoniacal in sensuous
-life and pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction this splendid
-symphony affords to a noble mind! It carries such a man from the arms
-of pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature, from appearance to
-reality.
-
-This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime order of the world, which
-calms our minds and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
-is heard in the _adagio_ of the work. And when, in an incomparably
-poetical union to the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
-ordered course of things, the longing, perturbed human heart is
-contrasted by a second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty never
-before imagined, we at last see the soul, so to speak, disappear
-entirely before itself, dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
-steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the final chords, sound like
-the death knell of the human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
-in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to naught.
-
-But the world is man, is the heart, and wants to live, to live! And
-so here the final echo is still the longing, sounding tones of human
-feeling.
-
-Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the development of this powerful
-tragedy, and thus confirms the explanation of it we have given, as
-well as the persistence of ultimate truth in his own heart; for in
-it we find--after the almost raging cry of all earthly existence in
-the orchestral storm of the beginning of the _finale_, which was even
-then called a “feast of scorn at all that is styled human joy”--in the
-sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives of the contra-bassos:
-“No, this confusion reminds us of our despairing condition. This is a
-magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with song.” And then follows the
-theme of the first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is something
-else that I am craving.” “The will and consciousness of man are at
-variance the one with the other, and the cause of man’s despairing
-situation.” Next comes the _motive_ for the _scherzo_: “Nor is it
-this thing either; it is but merriness and small talk”--the trifles
-of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of the _adagio_: “Nor
-is it this thing either,” and thereupon the words: “I myself shall
-sing--music must console us, music must cheer us;” and then the
-melody, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_, is heard, expressive of the
-newly-won peace of the soul, descriptive of human character in the
-full beauty of its simplicity and innocence restored. Beethoven knew
-from what depths of human nature music was born, and what its ultimate
-meaning to mankind is.
-
-We are made to experience this more fully still by the continuation
-of the _finale_ which represents the solution of the conflict of this
-tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here sung plainly springs from
-its only pure and lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
-love--that feeling which, as religion, fills the heart. The _Ihr
-stuerzt nieder, Millionen_ is the foundation, the germ (to express
-it in the language of music of double counterpoint) of the _Seid
-umschlungen, Millionen_, and then the whole sings of joy as the
-transfiguration of the earthly world by eternal love. The will can
-accomplish nothing greater than to sacrifice itself for the good of the
-whole. To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful phenomenon
-in the world was not the conqueror but the overcomer of the world; and
-he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.
-
-This is celebrated by the _finale_ as the last consequence of the
-“struggle with fate,” of man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
-to say that out of the spirit of this music a “new civilization” and
-an existence more worthy of human beings might be developed, since it
-leads us back to the foundation and source of civilization and human
-existence--to religion? Beethoven was one of those great minds who have
-added to the intellectual possessions of our race in regions which
-extend far beyond the merely beautiful in art. When we bear this in
-mind, we can understand why he wanted to write a tenth symphony as
-the counterpart and final representation of these highest conceptions
-of the nature and goal of our race. This tenth symphony he intended
-should transfigure the merely humanly beautiful of the antique world
-in the light of the refined humanity of modern ideas--the earthly in
-the light of the heavenly. And we may understand, too, what we are told
-of himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed in his countenance,
-it shed about him all the charms of childlike innocence. “When he
-smiled,” we are told, “people believed not only in him, but in
-humanity.” Occasionally there would blossom on his lips a smile which
-those who saw could find no other word to describe but “heavenly.” So
-full was his heart of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.
-
-We shall see how the last quartets, which follow now, represent
-this, his sublime transfigured condition of soul, in the most varied
-pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.
-
-Of works composed during this period, we may mention: March to
-“Tarpeja” and the _Bardengeist_ composed in 1813; _Gute Nachricht_,
-_Elegischer Gesang_, _Kriegers Abschied_, composed in 1814; Duos
-for the clarionette and bassoon, which appeared in 1815; _Es ist
-vollbracht_, _Sehnsucht_, Scotch songs, composed in 1815; _Der Mann
-von Wort_, op. 99. _Militaermarsch_, composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
-(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; _Clavierstueck_ in B, composed
-in 1818; _Gratulations-menuet_, composed in 1822. It will be noticed
-that the number of his works grows steadily smaller according as their
-volume or their depth of meaning grows greater. This last will be
-evident especially from his subsequent quartets which, so to speak,
-stand entirely alone.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-1824-27.
-
-THE LAST QUARTETS.
-
-  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The Great
-    Concert of May, 1824--Preparation for It--Small Returns--Beethoven
-    Appreciated--First Performance of the Missa Solemnis and of the
-    Ninth Symphony--The Quartets--An “Oratorio for Boston”--Overture
-    on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works--His
-    Brother Johann--Postponement of His Journey to London--Presentiment
-    of Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
-    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man--Debility--Calls for Dr.
-    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a Clergyman--His
-    Death.
-
-
-“Noble souls fall usually only because they do not know the mournful
-but incontestable truth that, considering our present customs and
-political institutions, the artist has more to suffer in proportion as
-he is a genuine artist. The more original and gigantic his works are,
-the more severely is he punished for the effects they produce. The
-swifter and sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish from the
-dim vision of the multitude.” Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor
-in art, Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his days; and to whom
-can what he says here be applied with more propriety than to our
-artist, especially at this period of his life, when his thoughts
-took their sublimest flight? His action now seemed indeed to assure
-him unconditional victory, even in his immediate environment--we are
-approaching the celebrated concert of May, 1824--but how soon shall
-we see him again misunderstood by the crowd and, as a consequence,
-lonelier than ever before.
-
-He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher life which art and
-science imply, and which they give it to us to hope for;” and he,
-in consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of himself; so that
-his brother found it necessary to say to him: “You must buy yourself
-a new hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your expense because
-you have so bad a hat.” But now that the “colossal creation” was
-finished, even to the last iota, he began to be in better humor, to
-stroll about the streets gazing at the show-windows, and to salute
-many an old friend, as, for instance, his former teacher, Schenk,
-more warmly. His name was now more frequently on the lips of friends,
-and when it was known that a great symphony, as well as the Mass, was
-finished, people recalled the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
-and a letter signed by men of the higher classes of society--men whom
-Beethoven himself loved and honored--invited him, in February, 1824, to
-abstain no longer from the performance of something great. And, indeed,
-the Italian _roulade_ and all kinds of purely external _bravoura_
-had obtained supremacy in Vienna. The “second childhood of taste”
-threatened to follow the “golden age of art.” It was hoped that home
-art would receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his own sphere, had
-no equal, and that, thanks to his influence, the true and the beautiful
-would rule supreme again.
-
-Schindler found him with the manuscript in his hand. “It is very
-pretty! I am glad!” Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
-another hope was bound up with this. He hoped to obtain compensation
-for his long labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce something new
-worthy of his genius. The preparation for the concert was attended
-by very much that was disagreeable. His own want of resolution and
-suspicious manner contributed their share to this. With the most
-splenetic humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation, I am boiled,
-stewed, roasted.” And when several of his more intimate friends, like
-Count Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted to a little
-subterfuge to make him come to some resolve, he said: “I despise
-deceit. Visit me no more. And let him visit me no more. I’m not
-giving a party.” But, on the other hand, the first violinists of the
-city--Schuppanzigh, Mayseder and Boehm, who is still living--together
-with _capellmeister_ Umlauf, were at the head of the orchestra,
-while a large number of amateurs were ready to lend their assistance
-at a moment’s notice. Their motto was: “Anything and everything
-for Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for the performance of
-Beethoven’s great creations were begun.
-
-“Just as if there were words beneath them?” asked Schindler, speaking
-of the powerful recitatives of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
-Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both subsequently so celebrated,
-found it exceedingly difficult to execute the solos in the Mass and
-the _finale_; but to all prayers that they might be changed, Beethoven
-had only one answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally replied: “Well,
-in God’s name, let us torment ourselves a little longer, take a little
-more trouble, and attempt it.” The performance was to occur on the 7th
-of May. That “rare, noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
-“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a single note. Frau
-von Ertmann was again in Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
-many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven personally invited the
-court. His trusted servant, who was specially helpful to him on this
-occasion, said to him: “We shall take your green coat with us, too;
-the theater is dark; no one can see us. O my great master, not a black
-dress coat have you in your possession.” The house was crowded to
-over-fullness. Only the court box was almost empty, on account of the
-Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s attendant again tells us: “His reception
-was more than imperial; at the fourth round of applause, the people
-became vociferous.” And Boehm tells us how the tears rushed into his
-own and Mayseder’s eyes at the very beginning. And what a success the
-performance was!
-
-In one of the accounts of it that have come down to us, we read: “Never
-in my life did I hear such tempestuous and at the same time such
-hearty applause. At one place--where the kettle-drums so boldly take
-up the rhythmic _motive_ alone--the second movement of the symphony
-was totally interrupted by the applause; the tears stood in the eyes
-of the performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to wield the baton
-until Umlauf called his attention to the action of the audience by a
-motion of his hand. He looked at them and bowed in a very composed
-way.” At the close the applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
-say, the man who was the cause of it all again turned his back to the
-enthusiastic audience. At this juncture, the happy thought occurred to
-Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards the audience, and to ask him to
-notice their applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs. He
-testified his gratitude simply by bowing, and this was the signal for
-the breaking forth of a jubilation such as had scarcely ever before
-been heard in a theater, and which it seemed would never end. The next
-day, we read, in his conversation leaves, what some one said to him:
-“Everybody is shattered and crushed by the magnitude of your works.”
-
-And now, what of the pecuniary success of the performance? It was
-measured by about one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses attending
-it had been too great. Besides, regular subscribers, entitled to their
-seats in boxes, did not pay a farthing for this concert. The court did
-not send in a penny, which, however, they were wont not to fail to do
-on the occasion of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven reached his
-home, Schindler handed him the account of the receipts. “When he saw
-it, he broke down entirely. We took him and laid him on the sofa. We
-remained at his side until late in the night. He asked neither for food
-nor for anything else. Not an audible word did he utter. At last, when
-we observed that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we retired. His
-servant found him next morning in his concert toilette (his green dress
-coat) in the same place, asleep.” This account is by Schindler, who,
-together with the young official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
-Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him home on this occasion.
-
-This was the first performance of the _Missa Solemnis_ (op. 123) and of
-the Ninth Symphony (op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May, 1824.
-The fact that when the performance was repeated on the 24th of May,
-spite of the additional attraction of the “adored” tenor, David, who
-sang Rossini’s _Di tanti palpiti_, (after so much pain), the house
-was half empty, shows that, after all, it was more curiosity to see
-the celebrated deaf man than real taste for art which had filled it
-the first time. Like Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
-pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius. Not till 1845 did the
-magnanimous liberality of one who was really permeated by his spirit
-bring it to pass that a monument was erected to him in his native city,
-Bonn, as that same liberality has brought it to pass that one has been
-erected to him, in our own day, in his second home, Vienna. We have
-reference to the royal gift and to the equally rich playing of Franz
-Liszt.
-
-It now became more imperative for him to give his attention to those
-compositions which promised him some immediate return, to the quartets,
-to write which he had received a commission from persons as noted for
-their generosity to him as for their love of art. These and the op. 127
-occupy the first place in this brilliant constellation of art. “I am
-not writing what I should prefer to write. I am writing for the money
-I need. When that end is satisfied, I hope to write what is of most
-importance to myself and to art--Faust.” He thus expressed himself
-when engaged in the composition of the Ninth Symphony, and there was
-some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for Boston.” And so, likewise,
-the German Melusine and an opera for Naples, the Requiem, the tenth
-symphony, and an overture on B-A-C-H remained projects and no more. But
-they were also a great prospect for the future while he was engaged in
-the labors of the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable influence
-on the composition of the quartets themselves. The more he became
-interested in these works--and what works were better calculated to
-interest a composer of such poetic power--the more did these ideas
-become interwoven into the works themselves. They generated the
-peculiarly grand style and the monumental character which distinguish
-these last quartets. The soul-pictures from Faust especially are here
-eloquently re-echoed in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed, the
-Prince, who had given him the commission to write them, seemed to be
-the very man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was highest and best
-in art, even in such a narrow sphere. For he had so arranged it that,
-even before its production in Vienna, that “sublime masterpiece,” the
-Mass, was publicly performed. He informs us that the effect on the
-public was indescribable; that he had never before heard anything, not
-even of Mozart’s music, which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
-genius was centuries in advance of his age, and that probably there
-was not among his hearers a single one enlightened enough to take in
-the full beauty of his music. On the other hand, there reigned in
-Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the restoration, with its
-idol Rossini, a revelry which had driven all noble and serious music
-into the background. Besides, the Prince had ordered that the costs for
-musical composition should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”
-
-Beethoven now went to work in earnest, and this composition was
-destined to be his last.
-
-He had already made a great many drafts of the works above mentioned,
-one for op. 127 in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding quartet
-in A minor (op. 131), in the year 1823, when he was completing the
-Ninth Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet in A minor remind us, in
-more ways than one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony--the latter by
-its passion so full of pain, the former, with its _adagio_, where the
-longing glances to the stars have generated a wonderful, melancholy
-peace of soul. The immediately following third quartet (op. 130) stands
-out before us like a newly created world, but one which is “not of this
-world.” And, indeed, the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
-more and more to liberate him, heart and soul, from this world, and
-the whole composition of the quartets appears like a preparation for
-the moment when the mind, released from existence here, feels united
-with a higher being. But it is not a painfully happy longing for death
-that here finds expression. It is the heartfelt, certain and joyful
-feeling of something really eternal and holy that speaks to us in the
-language of a new dispensation. And even the pictures of the world
-here to be found, be they serious or gay, have this transfigured
-light--this outlook into eternity. There is little in the world of art,
-in which the nature of the religious appears so fully in its substance
-and essence without showing itself at any time otherwise than purely
-human, and therefore imperishable--never clothed in an accidental and
-perishable garb. This explains how a people not noted for any musical
-genius, but who are able to understand the spirit and meaning of music,
-the English, whom Beethoven himself esteemed so highly, considered
-his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his music is religious in its
-ultimate meaning and spirit. This character of his music finds its
-purest and most striking expression in the last quartets; and these
-quartets enable us to understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
-Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that our civilization might
-receive a new soul from the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
-religion which might permeate it through and through.
-
-We now pass to an account of the details of the origin of these works.
-
-The bitterness which Beethoven was destined henceforth to taste
-proceeded for the most part from his own relatives. “God is my witness,
-my only dream is to get away entirely from you, from my miserable
-brother, and from this despicable family which has been tied to me,”
-he writes, in 1825, to his growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
-touching on these sad things, because now, especially, they exercised
-the greatest influence on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
-and because they finally led to a catastrophe which played a part in
-bringing about his premature death.
-
-His weak and “somewhat money-loving” brother, Johann, had, indeed, in
-consequence of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference, married a
-silly wife. He found it impossible to control her course, or even
-to get a divorce from her, because he had made over to her a part of
-his property, and was “inflexible” on this very point. And so the
-brother was not able, spite of many invitations, to induce Beethoven
-to visit him even once on his estate of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf,
-on the Danube. Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of 1823: “O accursed
-shame! Have you not a spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself by
-entering such company?” Yet, his sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees.
-But the mother of the boy continued, now that he was beginning to
-mature, to draw him into her own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven
-wrote in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous breath of the dragon;
-and levity, falsehood and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle, who
-was at the same time a father to him, followed. Carried away by the
-impulses of his moral feelings, the latter was severe even to harshness
-with the boy, and yet could not dispense with the young man’s company
-because of his increasing age and isolation. The natural craving for
-love, moral severity and the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the
-texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.
-
-The correspondence of this year, 1824, turns principally upon the
-pecuniary realization from his new, great works; for he wanted to be in
-London in the fall without fail. We have also a letter of his about his
-will, to his lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He writes: “Only in
-divine art is the power which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
-heavenly muses the best part of my life.” We hear also the celestial
-sounds of the _adagio_, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was himself
-filled with this true “manna;” for he exclaims in these same summer
-days, “Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me to be delivered over
-to the hands of death, for I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
-with and commands me to finish. I feel as if I had written scarcely a
-note.” And we even now find the sketches of those pieces expressive
-of a happiness more than earthly, or else, in gay irony, of contempt
-for the existing world, or of the mighty building up of a new world;
-the _alla danza tedesca_ and the _poco scherzando_ of op. 130, as well
-as the great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to be the original
-_finale_ of op. 130, and which, by its superscription, “overture”
-and the gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of the plan of the
-_Bachouverture_. Even the unspeakably deep melancholy and, at the same
-time, blissful, hopeful _cavatina_ of the same third quartet op. 130,
-blossoms forth now from the feeling of his heart, which has taken into
-itself the full meaning of the eternal, and is filled with a higher
-joy. We here find, as in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs of
-a new and deep-felt language of the heart, a real personal language,
-acquired to humanity for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
-which, in our own day, has led to the most touching soul-pictures in
-art--to the transfiguration of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying song
-of redeeming love.
-
-A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The desolate horrors that
-surround him endow him with the power to understand more clearly the
-higher tasks of the mind in which his art had a living part. We see
-plainly that his nature tends more and more towards the one thing
-necessary--“All love is sympathy,” sympathy with the sorrows of the
-world, says the philosopher. And so while his vision takes an immense
-sweep over the field of existence, we see that an inexhaustible source
-of patient goodness and of the kindest and most heartfelt love, springs
-up within him. “From childhood up it was my greatest happiness to be
-able to work for others,” he once said; and again when the overture,
-op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much praised on this account, etc.
-But what is that all to the great Master of Tones above--above--above!
-rightly the Most High, when here below it is used only for purposes
-of ridicule. Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen to the sublime irony
-of his tones in op. 130, but also to the lustrous mildness of the
-_adagio_ of op. 127, in which in the little movement in E major, the
-human soul itself, filled with the spirit of the Eternal, so to speak,
-opens its eyes and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all that is, that
-was and that will be. No mortal man has lifted my veil. He comes from
-Himself alone, and to this Only One all things owe their existence.”
-Beethoven wrote out this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824, framed
-it and placed it on his writing table before him. He well knew what
-the really creative and preserving deity in human life is. That deity
-lived in his own most heartfelt thought and feeling. It was to him a
-continual source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To it he was indebted
-for the poetic creations which sprung unbidden from his brain.
-
-The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to the spring and summer of
-1825. His journey to London had been postponed. Schindler gives as the
-reason of this, the “bad behavior of his dearly beloved nephew, which
-had become somewhat notorious.” How could his “son” be abandoned,
-thus unguarded, to “the poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
-invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony was again taken in hand, and
-from the sketches of it now made, we know all that is certain about
-it. It was intended to do no less than to add the “beautiful to the
-good,” to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty of the antique,
-or rather to transfigure the mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
-light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed, a picture of this kind,
-a direct, intentional, higher picture of the world in the _adagio,
-in modo lidico_, in the second quartet. It is called the “Song of
-Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity,” and is a choral between
-the repetitions of which, ever richer and more heartfelt, the joyful
-pulsations of new life are expressed. Beethoven had been seriously
-sick during this spring. His affection for his nephew had assumed, in
-consequence of one continual irritation of his feelings, the nature
-of a passion which tormented the boy to death, but which, like every
-passion, brought no happiness to Beethoven himself. The first movement
-of this quartet in A minor is a psychological picture--a poem of the
-passions--the consuming character of which can be explained only by
-this very condition of the artist’s own soul. And how Beethoven’s
-creations always came from his own great soul, that soul so fully
-capable of every shade of feeling and excitement! The account left us
-by the young poet, Rellstab, written in the spring of 1825, gives us
-a perfect description of the state Beethoven was in at this time. He
-describes him “a man with a kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
-Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness of this description.
-“In what part of me am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to his
-nephew, whose frivolity had already begun to bear evil fruit. On
-another occasion he said: “O, trouble me no more. The man with the
-scythe will not respite me much longer.”
-
-Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps because of this extreme
-excitement of his whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very rich
-in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,” he had to write the
-quartet in C sharp minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
-130). The last quartet also, that in F major, had its origin in that
-“inexhaustible fancy”--a fancy which always tended to the production
-of such works. Hence it is that the number of movements increases. The
-second has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the fourth (C sharp
-minor), seven--as if the old form of the suite, or the _divertimento_
-of the septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s comparison immediately
-shows the presence of the old organic articulation of the form of
-the sonata. These movements are in fact only transitions to, and
-connecting links between, two colossal movements. They increase the
-usual number of movements, although frequently nothing more than short
-sentences, and at times only a few measures. But the introductory
-movement and the _finale_ in the quartet in A minor loom up like the
-pillars of Hercules, and determine the impassioned character and the
-dramatic style of the whole. Beethoven himself called it a piece of
-art worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130, when the great
-fugue, op. 133, is considered a part of it, which in our day it should
-always be conceded to be. And how immensely great is this spirit when,
-in the quartet in C sharp minor, it awakes from the most profound
-contemplation of self to the contemplation of the world and its
-pain.--“Through sorrow, joy!”
-
-We must refer the reader to the third volume of _Beethoven’s Leben_,
-published in Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the desolation
-of our artist, produced by the narrow circle with which the restoration
-of Metternich and Gentz surrounded him, at a time when his own mind and
-feeling were expanding to greater dimensions than ever before. To the
-same source we must send him for a description of the full earnestness
-and greatness of this last period in the life of our artist. In that
-work was for the first time presented to the public, from original
-sources, and especially from the records of Beethoven’s written
-conversations, extant in the Berlin library, the comfortless--but
-at the same time, and spite of continual torment, intellectually
-exalted--picture of his character. “Words are interdicted. It is a
-fortunate thing that tones are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the
-poet of the oratorio, _Saul and David_, to him at this time--a work
-in which he wished to give expression both to his own relation as a
-human being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working nature of his
-art. The execution of this plan was prevented only by death. The
-general demoralization which had invaded Vienna with the Congress
-made its effects felt directly in his own circle, through the agency
-of his nephew, and thus paved the way for disaster to himself. “Our
-age has need of vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
-miserable wretches,” he cries out at this very time to his nephew,
-who had permitted himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated
-to irritate, at the expense of a genuine _faijak_--as Beethoven was
-wont now to call the good Viennese--the music-dealer Haslinger; and
-the matter had become public. But he adds to the above: “Much as my
-heart resists causing pain to a single human being.” And, indeed, his
-heart knew nothing of such anger or vengeance. It was always a real
-sympathizer with the sorrows born of human weakness--a sorrow which
-with him swelled to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself. To
-this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is indebted for its series
-of pictures, in which we see the world created, as it were, anew
-with a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy, humorous,
-cheerful coloring of the several pieces--pieces which, indeed, are
-no mere sonata movements, but full pictures of life and of the soul.
-The _cavatina_ overtops it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
-admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from him “fresh tears.”
-
-“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he implores his “son.” Speaking of
-the rabble of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer the whole week
-like a saint;” and, on another occasion, still more painfully: “May
-God be with, thee and me. It will be all over soon with thy faithful
-father.” His days, so strangely divided between the loftiest visions of
-the spirit and the meanest troubles of life, henceforth render him more
-and more indifferent to the latter. We find persons invade his circle
-whom otherwise he would never have permanently endured about him, and
-who frequently led him into minor sorts of dissipation even in public
-places. This reacted on the nephew, whose respect for the character of
-his “great uncle” could not long stand a course of action apparently
-like his own. But even now we see a picture in tones of which one of
-the _faijaks_, the government officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied
-it, writes to Beethoven himself: “When one can survey it thus calmly,
-new worlds come into being.” We have reference to the quartet in C
-sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look beaming with light, dripping with
-sorrow and joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this time in beautiful
-Baden, and, indeed, this work, which he himself called the “greatest”
-of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different from the
-Ninth Symphony, the meaning of his own life, which he here himself, as
-Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a wild melody of pleasure
-and pain. But we now recognize more clearly that something “like a
-vulture is devouring his heart.” We, indeed, are drawing near to the
-catastrophe which led to his premature end.
-
-As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed “stormy scenes.”
-An uncontrollable love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
-the streets had led the young man into worse and worse courses,
-to falsehood and embezzlement. And when these were discovered, he
-secretly ran away from home. It was not long, however, before the
-loving weakness of his uncle called him back. The only effect of this
-was henceforth to condemn Beethoven himself to a slavish, too slavish
-life, one which would have been a torment even to an ordinary mortal,
-but which must have been doubly so to a passionate, great man who was
-deaf. The nephew found fault with his uncle, with his “reproaches”
-and “rows.” He accused him even of having led him into had company.
-He dreaded other reproaches still and was afraid of even personal
-violence. At last, one day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
-the frightful news that his son had left his dwelling with a pair of
-pistols, and intended to take his own life. A long and terrible morning
-was spent searching for the unfortunate youth, who was finally led
-home, with a wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done now. Torment me
-no longer with reproofs and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
-and feeling may be inferred from the words found in his conversation
-leaves: “I have grown worse, because my uncle wanted to make me
-better;” and from these others: “He said it was not hatred, but a very
-different feeling, that moved him against you.”
-
-The uncle, alas! understood these expressions better than those
-about him. These had only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
-“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly to be seen in his bent
-attitude. The man, firm and upright in all the movements of his body,
-was gone. A person of about seventy was before us--yielding, without a
-will, the sport of every breath of air.” So wrote Schindler. Beethoven
-called for the Bible “in the real language into which Luther had
-translated it.” A few days later, we find in his conversations the
-following memorandum: “On the death of Beethoven.” Did he mean his own
-death, or the death of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to speak,
-lost his own life? Be this as it may, he now sang the deepest song of
-his soul, and it was destined to be his dying song. We refer to the
-_adagio_ in the last quartet, op. 135. His harp soon after this grew
-silent, and forever. Henceforth we have only projects or fragments of
-works. But he touched it once more, like King Gunther in the Edda,
-“seated among serpents,” the most venomous of which--the pangs of his
-own conscience--menaced him with death. Among the pictures in which he
-paints the meaning of a theme similar to that of this _adagio_ (pieces
-thus independent of one another cannot rightly be called variations),
-there is one whose minor key and rhythm show it to be a funeral
-ceremony of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt he may have incurred
-he atoned for in his heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
-His soul is free. This the theme itself tells us, eloquently and
-distinctly. Here the soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
-own primeval source, and towards the close plumes its wing for a happy,
-lofty flight, to regions it has longed to enter. The other pictures
-show us this full, certain and joyful possession of one’s self, and the
-last even seems to resolve the soul into its faculties when it floats
-about the Eternal Being in the most blissful happiness--a vision and
-condition which, of all the means of expression of the intellect, only
-music is able to describe, and which proves to us that, in the case of
-our artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.
-
-And thus it comes that a movement with which there is none to be
-compared, one which to our feelings is the richest and most perfect
-of all movements, and, at the same time, of the most brilliant
-transparency, made its way into a work which otherwise shows no trace
-of the magnitude of this his last effort. For the _finale_ is only a
-sham-play of those magic powers which our master so well knew how to
-conjure up, both in sublime horror and in saving joy.
-
-But his physical condition was soon destined to be in keeping with
-the condition of his soul above described. When, indeed, Karl was
-convalescing as well as could be desired, and he had decided to follow
-the military calling, Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally at
-least, he again looked fresh and cheerful. “He knew,” says Schindler,
-“how to rise superior to his fate, and his whole character bore an
-‘antique dignity.’” But even now he told the old friend of his youth,
-Wegeler, that he intended “to produce only a few more great works,
-and then, like an old child, to close his earthly career somewhere
-among good men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature seemed shattered.
-“What dost thou want? Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the truest
-resignation sufficient for thee, even if thou art in want?” This one
-conversation with Karl tells us everything.
-
-Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared. A single blow, and his
-powerful, manly form was shattered like that of the meanest of mortals.
-And, indeed, that blow was struck with almost unexpected violence.
-
-After his recovery, Karl was released by the police on the express
-condition that he would remain in Vienna only one day more. His scar,
-however, prevented his entering the service. Where, then, could he go,
-now that the fall was just beginning? His brother, Johann, invited him
-to his Wasserhof estate near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
-as he had once: _non possibile per me_--impossible for me. But his
-sojourn in a country house not constructed so as to guard against
-the cold and dampness, a want of attention to his growing infirmity,
-misunderstandings with his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with
-the brother himself, who, after it, refused him the use of his close
-carriage, and, lastly, his departure in the cold of winter in the
-“devil’s own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired to send
-our patient back to Vienna, the subject of a violent fit of sickness.
-In addition to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician, and
-none visited his sick bed until the third day after his return. The
-doctor who came was not Beethoven’s customary physician, and totally
-misunderstood the nature of the disease. Other shocks succeeded, and
-the consequence was a violent attack of dropsy, the symptoms of which
-had first shown themselves in Gneixendorf.
-
-His long, painfully long end was now beginning. His constitution,
-powerful as that of a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
-nearly three months. As labor of any kind was out of the question, the
-arrival of Handel’s works from London, which came to him as a present,
-supplied him with the distraction he wished for, in his own sphere. It
-was not long before attacks of suffocation at night distressed him and
-it became necessary to perform the operation paracentesis. When he saw
-the stream of water gush forth, he remarked, with that sublimity of
-humor so peculiarly his own, that the surgeon reminded him of Moses,
-who struck the rock with his rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he
-added: “Better water from the stomach than from the pen.” With this he
-consoled himself. But he grew worse, and a medical consultation seemed
-necessary to his friends. His own heart forebode him no good, and he
-again made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827. He made his beloved
-nephew “sole heir to all he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join
-his regiment the day before, and this had a good and quieting effect
-on Beethoven. He knew that the young man would be best provided for
-there, and testified his gratitude to General von Stutterheim, who had
-received him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet in C sharp
-minor--his “greatest” quartet. He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be
-called. But he had had a falling out years before with him, and the
-celebrated physician did not now want to excite the displeasure of his
-colleagues. Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly when I told
-him the doctor’s decision.”
-
-But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had exchanged a few words,
-the old friends lay weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor prescribed
-iced punch to “quicken the organs of digestion, enervated by too much
-medicine.” The first physician who was called to attend him tells
-us: “The effect of the prescription was soon perceptible. He grew
-cheerful, was full of witty sallies at times, and even dreamt that
-he might be able to finish his oratorio _Saul and David_.” From his
-written conversations, we see that a great many of his friends had
-gathered about his bed. He thought of finishing the Bach overture for
-one of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to busy himself with the
-Tenth Symphony once more. He had again to experience the feeling of
-pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition--an embarrassment now
-more painful than ever--brought about more especially by the necessity
-of procuring a military outfit for Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed,
-expressly promised a short time before to send him money, but he proved
-a “princely boaster;” and there was no prospect of an income from any
-other source. All his completed works had been sold, and the little
-fortune he had laid aside at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
-irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.
-
-His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous” English, who had already
-promised him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time. The third
-operation had been performed. His long-continued solitude had alienated
-men from him in Vienna; and, especially after his experiences with the
-_Akademie_ in 1824, he had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
-for art of his second home. This induced Schindler to write to England:
-“But what afflicts him very much is, that no one here concerns himself
-in the least about him; and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
-him is very surprising.” After this, we find only his most intimate
-friends at his bedside. Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened to
-be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes: “Thou must bless my boy as
-Voltaire blessed Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling and giving
-concerts, also saw him, and at the sight of his suffering--he had just
-undergone the fourth operation--burst into tears. Beethoven had, at the
-moment of Hummel’s visit, received a little picture as a present, and
-he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear Hummel, the house in which
-Haydn was born--the miserable peasant hut, in which so great a man was
-born!”
-
-He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who had purchased his Mass and
-his Ninth Symphony, and who was destined one day to become the owner
-of the _Niebelungen_, for some old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti
-recommended an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it seemed to him, would
-surely save him. But it had the very opposite effect, and he was soon
-taken with violent pains. He wrote to London: “I only ask God that
-I may be preserved from want as long as I must here endure a living
-death.” The response was one thousand guldens from the Philharmonic
-Society of that city “on account of the concert in preparation.” “It
-was heart-rending to see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
-in tears of joy and gratitude” when he received them. This was his
-last joy, and the excitement it caused accelerated his end. His wound
-broke open again and did not close any more. He felt this at first a
-wonderful relief, and while he felt so he dictated some letters for
-London, which are among the most beautiful he has written. He promised
-to finish the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had other “gigantic”
-plans, especially as regards his Faust music. “That will be something
-worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The overflow of his fancy was
-“indescribable, and his imagination showed an elasticity which his
-friends had noticed but seldom when he was in health.” At the same
-time, the most beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated before
-his mind, and in conversation he always represented his own works
-as filled with such “poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
-“indescribably great. His dissolution was approaching” with giant
-steps, and even his friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
-wrote to London on the 24th March: “He feels that his end is near, for
-yesterday he said to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands, friends; the
-play is over.’” And further: “He advances towards death with really
-Socratic wisdom and unexampled equanimity.” He could well be calm of
-heart and soul. He had done his duty as an artist and as a man. This
-same day he wrote a codicil to his will in favor of his nephew; and now
-his friends had only one deep concern--to reconcile him with heaven.
-The physician approved, and Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
-“I will.”
-
-The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly performed his last religious
-duties. Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him say, after he had
-received the sacrament: “Reverend sir, I thank you. You have brought me
-consolation.”
-
-He then reminded Schindler of the letter to London, “May God bless
-them,” he said. The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad! too bad! it’s
-too late!” These were his very last words. He fell immediately after
-into such an agony that he was not able to utter a single syllable
-more. On the 24th and 25th of March, the people came in crowds to see
-him again. Even the _faijaks_, Hoslinger and Holz, as well as the poet
-Castelli, were among them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,” said
-Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur, who, in relating the incident,
-added that when Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he covered his
-face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’ he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his
-hand, but never saw him again.’” This was the last act of his life.
-
-“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock, which he had received as a
-present from Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as it still does
-when a storm is approaching. Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
-churchyard, to select a grave for him. A storm of loud thunder and
-hail came raging on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van Beethoven
-and the young composer, Anselm Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither
-from Graz to look upon his revered master once more, were present in
-the room of the dying man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it with a
-lurid flash. The moribund opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and
-looked up with a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of the hero
-would not out. But when his uplifted hand fell back on the bed, his
-eyes half closed. Not another breath! Not another heart-beat! It was I
-that closed the half-open eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
-an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment. This was the 28th of March,
-1827.
-
-“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter, wept at his grave, but a
-world wept at it.” These are the words of the orator of the day on
-the occasion of the unveiling of the first monument to Beethoven in
-1845, in Bonn. But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring was
-a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty thousand human beings surged
-over the street where now the votive church stands; for in the
-_Schwarzspanierhaus_ behind it, Beethoven had lived during the last
-years of his life. The leading _capellmeisters_ of the city carried
-the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.
-
-“The news of his death had violently shaken the people out of their
-indifference,” says Dr. G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
-poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the funeral procession, “the
-general of musicians” whom men were carrying to the grave! The poet,
-Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration. He took for his text the
-words: “He was an artist, and he was what he was only through his art.”
-Our very being and our sublimest feelings are touched when we hear the
-name of
-
-  LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTE:
-
-  [A] To part from thee, my dear, this day,
-      And know that I can’t with thee stay,
-      Is more than my sad heart can bear.
-
-
-
-
-  TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,
-
-  COMPRISING
-
-  =MEMORIES;= A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.
-    BY MAX MÜLLER.
-
-  =GRAZIELLA;= A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.
-    BY A. DE LAMARTINE.
-
-  =MARIE;= A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.
-    BY ALEX. PUSHKIN.
-
-  =MADELEINE;= A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.
-    BY JULES SANDEAU.
-
-  _In neat box, per set_,             _Price, $3.00._
-  _Sold separately, per volume_,      _Price, $1.25._
-
-Of “Memories” the London _Academy_ says: “It is a prose poem. * * * It
-is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any work, however small,
-that does not bear some marks of its special bent, and the traces of
-research and philosophy In this little story are apparent, while its
-beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided mind, to which
-we already owe large debts of gratitude.”
-
-Of “Graziella” the Chicago _Tribune_ says: “It glows with love of
-the beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a perfect
-story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm and flow,
-the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform with
-‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the shelves
-of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong words.
-‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”
-
-Of “Marie” the Cincinnati _Gazette_ says: “This is a Russian love tale,
-written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little
-narratives that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic,
-and a Russian classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so
-distinctively Russian. We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and
-meet, face to face, the high-souled, simple-minded Russian.”
-
-Of “Madeleine” the New York _Evening Telegram_ says: “More than thirty
-years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French Academy and
-has since almost become a French classic. It abounds both in pathos
-and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love of the most
-exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so sweet,
-so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
-public.”
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-“_It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every
-schoolboy._”--_Saturday Review, London._
-
-  Tales of Ancient Greece.
-
-  BY THE REV. SIR G. W. COX, BART., M.A.,
-  Trinity College, Oxford.
-
-  _12mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price, $1.50._
-
-
-“Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of
-manner which will recommend it to all.”--_The Examiner, London._
-
-“It is only when we take up such a book as this, that we realize how
-rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”--_Inquirer, Philadelphia._
-
-“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
-versions might well find a place in every family.”--_The Nation, New
-York._
-
-“The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely
-peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”--_Standard, Chicago._
-
-“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among those
-English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable rank
-in the investigation of Greek history.”--_Edinburgh Review._
-
-“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin,
-and yet fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for
-the first time, were ever before presented in so chaste and popular
-form.”--_Golden Rule, Boston._
-
-“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
-makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales, or
-the ‘Arabian Nights.’ * * * We do not know of a Christmas book which
-promises more lasting pleasures.”--_Publishers’ Weekly._
-
-“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its
-contents are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated
-intelligence. * * * The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome
-addition to a department of literature that is thus far quite too
-scantily furnished.”--_Tribune, Chicago._
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-  SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,
-  FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
-
-  BY MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.
-
-  AUTHOR OF “SIX LITTLE COOKS,” “DORA’S HOUSEKEEPING,” ETC.
-
-  _12 mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price $1.50._
-
-
-“A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times
-to the foundation of the existing Republic.”--_Cincinnati Gazette._
-
-“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little
-history may be commended as the best of its kind that has yet
-appeared.”--_Bulletin, Philadelphia._
-
-“A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium
-of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”--_Christian
-Union, New York._
-
-“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to
-conscientiously give it our heartiest commendation. We know no
-elementary history of France that can at all be compared with
-it.”--_Living Church._
-
-“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and
-nation--one that will seize and hold the attention of all bright
-boys and girls who have a chance to read it.”--_Sunday Afternoon,
-Springfield_, (_Mass._)
-
-“We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple
-and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion.
-The book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious
-study.”--_Courant, Hartford, Ct._
-
-“Miss Kirkland has composed her ‘Short History of France’ in the way
-in which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she
-has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
-reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of
-events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the
-characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods.”--_The
-Nation, N. Y._
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-“_Unequalled by anything of the kind with which we are acquainted._”
-                                           --_Christian Advocate, N. Y._
-
-  CUMNOCK’S CHOICE READINGS.
-
-  FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. ARRANGED FOR THE EXERCISES OF
-  THE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND PUBLIC READER, WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE.
-  EDITED BY ROBERT MC’LAIN CUMNOCK, A. M., PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND
-  ELOCUTION, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.
-
-  _Large 12mo., cloth_,      _Price, $1.75._
-
-
-“It ought to become a special favorite among school and college
-students and public readers.”--_Evening Post, New York._
-
-“Taking into account the admirable type, the excellent taste, the
-brevity of the rhetorical counsels, the unsurpassed variety, we
-prefer Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”--_Christian
-Register, Boston._
-
-“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during the
-past ten years, we know of none so complete in all respects and so
-well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before
-us.”--_Transcript, Boston._
-
-“No choicer casket of prose and poetry has been given to us by any
-other author. These are the culled flowers from the bouquet of
-literature. They are of every nature known to the language, and each is
-of the best of its kind.”--_The Post, San Francisco._
-
-“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
-the English language are here assembled for the uses of the student of
-elocution. * * * The collection is valuable as a treasury of literary
-gems, apart from its worth as a manual of declamation.”--_Tribune,
-Chicago._
-
-“The volume consists in great measure of fresh specimens that have
-recently found their way into current literature, and present the charm
-of novelty with the merit of good writing. The ancient stream is thus
-enriched with supplies from new fountains, and living productions take
-the place of the veteran pieces which have grown old in the course of
-protracted service. * * * They are illustrations of the best literature
-of the day.”--_Tribune, New York._
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-“_Dr. Gibson is a champion of more than ordinary skill._”--Gazette,
-Cincinnati.
-
-  THE FOUNDATIONS
-  OF
-  CHRISTIANITY.
-
-  BY REV. J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,
-  Author of “AGES BEFORE MOSES.”
-
-  _Square 16 mo._,      _Price, $1.00._
-
-
-“Admirable because of its brevity and directness, and because it
-answers, without any theological circumlocution, the objections
-which modern infidelity puts forth so pertinaciously.”--_Inquirer,
-Philadelphia._
-
-“The book, both in manner and matter, will be found to be just the
-thing which many thoughtful yet perplexed persons need to direct their
-inquiries and resolve their doubts. The style is fresh, vigorous and
-incisive.”--_Canada Presbyterian, Toronto._
-
-“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who
-thinks at all on these noble themes, and we are sure that its
-effect will be wholesome and powerful in removing difficulties,
-strengthening defenses, and establishing the spirit upon sure
-foundations.”--_Observer, New York._
-
-“Dr. Gibson’s book, though so condensed, is admirable in method,
-and vigorous and fresh in style, throughout. As a brief and popular
-presentation of the fundamental truths, such as are apt to expand
-beyond ordinary ability to read in most hands, nothing more valuable
-has recently emanated from the press.”--_Rev. Dr. H. M. Field, in the
-Evangelist._
-
-“The treatment is masterly. The author grapples the points essential
-to the argument with courage and vigor, and in a style notable for its
-trenchant force, sets them forth in convincing light. While others meet
-the infidel argument more on the skirmish line, Christian people will
-be glad to see one like Dr. Gibson bearing down upon the very centre of
-the enemy’s position.”--_Rev. Dr. J. A. Smith, in the Standard._
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-“_An exceedingly interesting narrative of an extraordinary life._”--The
-Standard.
-
-  LIFE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD:
-  HIS PATRIOTISM AND HIS TREASON.
-
-  BY HON. I. N. ARNOLD,
-  AUTHOR OF “LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”
-
-  _Crown, 8vo., with Portrait_,      _Price, $2.50._
-
-
-This Life of Arnold is full of new facts, now first given to the
-public. Manuscripts from the family of Arnold, in England and in
-Canada, and the Shippen manuscripts, have enabled the author to make
-new contributions to Revolutionary history of great interest. The
-unpublished manuscripts of General Schuyler, to which the author has
-had access, has thrown new light upon the expedition to Canada and the
-campaign against Burgoyne. The author does not, to any extent, excuse
-Arnold’s treason, but aims to do full justice to him as a soldier and
-patriot. For Arnold, the traitor, he has no plea but “guilty;” for
-Arnold, the soldier and patriot, he asks a hearing and justice.
-
-“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
-baseness; and while exhibiting the former and the splendid services by
-which it was illustrated, with generous earnestness, does not in any
-degree extenuate the turpitude of the other.”--_Harper’s Monthly._
-
-“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is
-thrown on the prominent actors and events of history. * * * Bancroft
-erroneously asserts that Arnold was not present at the first battle
-of Saratoga. Upon this point the author has justice and right on his
-side, and to Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive
-campaign seems greatly attributable.”--_New England Historical and
-Genealogical Register._
-
-“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold
-has accomplished his task wonderfully well. * * * It is rarely that one
-meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
-the devoted wife of Benedict Arnold; she mourned his fallen greatness,
-but even in his ignominity was faithful to the vows by which she had
-sworn to love and care for him until death.”--_Traveller, Boston._
-
-  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
-  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
-
-
-
-
-TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
-
-
-  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
-
-  Superscripted text is preceded by a carat character: 81^a.
-
-  Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.
-
-  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
-
-  Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
-
-  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
-
-
-
-
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69693 ***
+
+[Illustration: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.]
+
+
+
+
+  _BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS._
+
+
+  LIFE OF BEETHOVEN
+
+  BY
+  LOUIS NOHL
+
+  TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
+  BY
+  JOHN J. LALOR.
+
+  “_Our age has need of vigorous minds._”
+
+  CHICAGO:
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
+  1881.
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT.
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
+  A. D. 1880.
+
+  STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED
+  BY
+  THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Music is the most popular of the arts. It fills man’s breast with
+a melancholy joy. Even the brute creation is not insensible to its
+power. Yet, at its best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
+without reason are training, practice, talent, and the development
+of that talent, required for the understanding of her secrets. “One
+wishes to be heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion becomes
+only women, but music should strike fire from the mind of a man.” In
+some such strain as this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
+how slowly the works of the great symphonist found a hearing and
+recognition from the general public.
+
+Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the name of Beethoven?
+Who is there that, hearing one of his compositions, does not feel
+the presence of a sublime, all-ruling power--of a power that springs
+from the deepest sources of all life? His very name inspires us with
+a feeling of veneration, and we can readily believe the accounts that
+have come down to us; how even strangers drew back with a species of
+awe, before this man of imposing appearance, spite of his smallness
+of stature, with his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
+piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two charcoal-burners who
+suddenly stopped their heavily laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow
+pass, this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all Vienna, and who was
+wont to stand and think, and then, humming, to go his way, moving about
+bee-like through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book in his
+hand.
+
+We are moved with the same feeling of respect that moved those common
+men, when we hear only Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
+are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel in that music the
+presence of the spirit that animates and sustains the world, and which
+is continually calling new life into existence. Even the person who
+is not a musician himself may feel, in these mighty productions, the
+certainty of the presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
+sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of hearts, the joys and
+sorrows of which Beethoven has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when
+we hear them, that the person who in them speaks to us has, in very
+deed, something to tell us, something of our own life; because he lived
+and felt more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and loved and
+suffered what we all love and suffer, more deeply than any other child
+of dust. In Beethoven, we meet with a personage really great, both
+in mind and heart, one who was able to become a sublime model to us,
+because life and art were serious things with him, and one who made it
+his duty “to live not for himself, but for other men.” The high degree
+of self-denying power found in this phenomenon of art, it is that has
+such an elevating effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks of the
+artist he discharged with equal fidelity. His life was the foundation
+on which the superstructure of his works rose. His greatness as a man
+was the source of his greatness as an artist. The mere story of his
+life, given here in outline, reveals to us the internal springs of his
+artistic creations, and we must perforce admit, that the history of
+Beethoven’s life is a part of the history of the higher intellectual
+life of our time and of humanity.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
+
+  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
+    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
+    Public at the Age of Seven--Errors as to His Age--Travels in
+    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
+    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
+    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
+    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First
+    Love--Beethoven and Hayden--Compositions written in Vienna      9-39
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
+
+  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
+    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s
+    First Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to
+    Remove to the North--New Compositions--His
+    Improvisations--Disappointments in North
+    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in
+    Austria--Neglects His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the
+    Eroica--Napoleon I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His
+    Deafness Again--Thoughts of Marriage--The Guicciardi
+    Family--Meaning of His Music--His “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning
+    of the Eroica and Fidelio--The Leonore Overture--Other
+    Compositions                                                   40-81
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.--THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,
+  SYMPHONIES.
+
+  The Pastorale--Meaning of the Apassionata--Beethoven’s Letter
+    to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own Opinion of the
+    Apassionata--Thinks of Writing Operas--Court Composer--Overture
+    to Coriolanus--The Mass in C, op. 86--His Sacred Music--The
+    Fidelio In Prague--Music for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral
+    Code”--Character of His Works about this Period--Intercourse
+    with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op. 69--Improvement in
+    His pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna fears to
+    lose Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh
+    Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to Bettina--His
+    Estimate of Genius                                            82-121
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
+
+  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
+    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Wellington’s Victory--Strange
+    Conduct--Intellectual Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The
+    Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object
+    of Universal Attention--Presents from Kings--The
+    Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--Romulus and the Oratorio--His
+    “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Opinion of the English
+    People--His Missa Solemnis--His Own Opinion of it--Its
+    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony              122-162
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  THE LAST QUARTETS
+
+  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The
+    Great Concert of May, 1821--Preparation for It--Small
+    Returns--Beethoven Appreciated--The Quartets--An “Oratorio
+    for Boston”--Overture on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal
+    Experience on His Works--His Brother Johann--Presentiment of
+    Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
+    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man Debility--Calls for Dr.
+    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a
+    Clergyman--His Death                                         163-201
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+1770-1794
+
+BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
+
+  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
+    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
+    Public at the Age of Seven--Error as to His Age--Travels in
+    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
+    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
+    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
+    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First Love--Beethoven
+    and Haydn--Compositions written in Vienna.
+
+
+Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn on the 17th of December,
+1770. We know only this the date of his baptism, with any certainty,
+and hence the 17th of December is assumed to be his birthday likewise.
+
+His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a singer in the chapel of the
+Elector, in Bonn. The family, however, had come originally from the
+Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather came to Bonn in 1732 after
+willfully leaving the parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
+had attracted attention as a bass singer in the church and the theater,
+and was made director of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
+had founded a family, was earning a respectable livelihood, and had
+won for himself the personal regard of the community. He did, besides,
+a small business in wines, but this, which was only accessory to his
+calling as a musician, contributed to undermine both his own happiness
+and his son’s. His wife, Josepha Poll, fell a victim to the vice of
+intemperance, and, in consequence, it at last became necessary to
+confine her in a convent in Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
+son inherited the vice of his mother.
+
+“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting of wine from a very
+early age,” says the account of his playmates. It was not long before
+this weakness got the upper hand to such an extent that his family
+and home suffered greatly. It finally led to his discharge from his
+position. Stephan van Breuning, our own Beethoven’s friend in youth,
+saw him, on one occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the hands
+of the police in the public streets.
+
+We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s youth, which put the
+strength of his mind as well as the goodness of his heart to the test.
+For in consequence of the very respectable position occupied by his
+grandfather, of his own early appointment as court organist, and of the
+rapid development of his talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
+the higher classes, and was employed in the capacity of musician in
+the families of the nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
+it happened that he and his two younger brothers were obliged to take
+their intoxicated father home, they always performed that disagreeable
+task with the utmost tenderness. He was never known to utter a hard or
+unkind word about the man who had made his youth so sunless, and he
+never failed to resent it when a third person spoke uncharitably of his
+father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain haughtiness, however, which
+marked his disposition as a youth and a man, are traceable to these
+early harsh experiences.
+
+And who knows the complications which caused misfortune to get the
+upper hand here! True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven was of a
+volatile and flighty disposition;” but even his playmates, when he was
+a boy, had nothing bad to say of his character. Anger and stubbornness
+seem, indeed, to have been the inheritance of his Netherland nature;
+and these our hero also displayed to no small extent. But while the
+grandfather had earned a very good position for himself, and always so
+deported himself that young Beethoven might take him as an example, and
+loved to speak of him as a “man of honor,” his father was never more
+than a singer in the chapel, on a small salary. But, notwithstanding
+his comparatively humble social position, he had made a mistake in
+marrying below his station.
+
+Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to
+wife, in 1763. She is described as a “pretty and slender woman.” She
+had served as a chambermaid, for a time, in some of the families of the
+great, had married young, and was left a widow at the age of nineteen.
+Johann’s marriage to this woman was not acceptable to the court
+_capellmeister_, and so it happened that he was obliged to leave the
+home in which he had thus far lived with his lonely father, and move
+into a wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn street, where his son
+Ludwig, the subject of this sketch, was born.
+
+The young wife brought no property to her husband. Several children
+were born to the newly married couple in quick succession. Of these,
+Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766, play some part in Beethoven’s
+life. The growth of the family was so rapid that it was not long
+before they felt the burthen of pecuniary distress. The grandfather,
+who was well to do, helped them, at first. His stately figure in his
+red coat, with his massive head and “big eyes,” remained fixed in the
+boy Ludwig’s memory, although he was only three years of age when his
+grandfather died. The child was, indeed, tenderly attached to him.
+As the father’s poverty increased, he made some efforts to improve
+his condition. But they were of no avail; for his deportment was only
+“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.” He now had recourse to
+teaching, and obtained employment in the theater, for he played the
+violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up what was left of his little
+fortune. Their furniture and table ware followed their silver-service
+and linen--“which one might have drawn through a ring,”--to the
+pawn-shop; and now the father’s poverty contributed only to make him,
+more and more, the victim of his weakness for the cup.
+
+But there was even now one star of hope in the dreary firmament of
+his existence--his son Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
+itself in very early childhood, and could not, by any possibility,
+escape the observation of the father, who, after all, was himself a
+“good musician.” And, although the father was not destined to live
+to see his son in the zenith of his success, it was his son’s talent
+alone that saved the family from ruin and their name from oblivion,
+for with the birth of Beethoven’s younger brother, Johann, and of a
+sister who died shortly after, the circumstances of the family became
+still more straightened. Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
+and it occurred to the father to train his son to be a second little
+Mozart, and, by traveling with him, earn the means of subsistence of
+which the family stood so sorely in need. And so the boy was rigidly
+kept to his lessons on the piano and violin. His daily exercises on
+these instruments must have been a severer task on him than would seem
+to be necessary in a regular course of musical training. He used to be
+taken from his playing with other children to practice, and friends of
+his youth tell us how they saw him standing on a stool before the piano
+and cry while he practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called into
+requisition in his education, and the expostulations of friends could
+not dissuade the father from such relentless severity. But the end was
+attained. Regular and persevering exercise, laid the foundation of a
+skill in the art of music, which led him before the public when only
+seven years of age. On the 26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
+day of the month on which Beethoven died), the father announced, in a
+paper published in Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would have
+the honor to wait on the public with several concertos for the piano,
+when, he flattered himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
+audience a rich treat; and this all the more since he had been favored
+with a hearing by the whole court, who listened to him with the
+greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance the surprise, was made one
+year younger in this announcement than he was in reality; and this
+led Beethoven himself into an error as to his age, which he did not
+discover until he was nearly forty.
+
+We need say but little concerning his other teachers when a youth.
+His great school was want, which urged him to follow and practice his
+art, so that he might master it, and, with its assistance, make his
+way through the world. When Beethoven grew to be eight years of age,
+he had as a teacher, in addition to his father, the vocalist Tobias
+Pfeiffer, for a whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven family. He
+was a skillful pianist. Beethoven considered him one of the teachers
+to whom he was most indebted, and was subsequently instrumental in
+procuring assistance for him from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
+the nature of his instruction, and of the mode of living in the family,
+from the fact, attested by Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently
+happened that Pfeiffer, after coming home with the father late in the
+night from the tavern, took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him at
+the piano practicing till morning. Yet the success attendant on this
+instruction was such, even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and his
+teacher, who performed on the flute, played variations together, the
+people in the streets stopped and listened to their delightful music.
+In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he traveled to Holland with his
+mother, played in the houses of the great, and astonished every one by
+his skill. The profits from this journey, however, cannot have been
+very large. When the boy was questioned about them, he replied: “The
+Dutch are a niggardly set; I shall never visit Holland again.”
+
+In the meantime, he turned his attention also to the study of the
+organ. Under the guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
+neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon became so proficient on that
+instrument, that he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
+service. But his principal teachers here were the old electoral court
+organist, van den Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
+Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition the latter was the first
+to exercise any real influence on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
+years, thanked him for the good advice he had given him--advice
+which had contributed so much to his success in the “divine art.” He
+concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If I should turn out some
+day to be a great man, you will have contributed to making me such.”
+Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an organist, he had all the
+characteristics of the North German artists; but, on the other hand,
+he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style introduced
+by Ph. E. Bach. He was a man of broad general education, and the form
+of his artistic productions was almost faultless. Such was young
+Beethoven’s proficiency at the age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was
+able to appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave the way for
+his appointment as court organist. We owe to him the first published
+account of Beethoven, and from that account we learn that the great
+foundation of his instruction was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,”
+that _ne plus ultra_ of counterpoint and technic. He first made a
+reputation in Vienna by his masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
+instruction he had received in composition, bore fruit also, and some
+variations to a march and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this time
+in print.
+
+In the account of Beethoven referred to above, and which was written
+in 1783, Neefe said that that young “genius” was deserving of support
+that he might be able to travel, and that he would certainly be another
+Mozart. But the development of his genius soon took a wider scope. He
+even, on one occasion, when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
+a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the best pieces of the age
+were produced. This was at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
+his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily greater. We are
+told that when he became court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
+made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the key entirely during
+the performance of divine service, by his own bold modulations. True,
+the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius” in the future, but he, no
+less than his _capellmeister_ Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
+extraordinary capacity of the young man.
+
+Incidents of this kind may have suggested the propriety of giving him
+the instruction appropriate for a really great master of art; and,
+indeed, we find the court organist of Bonn with Mozart in Vienna, in
+the spring of 1787.
+
+Beethoven’s appearance was not what would be called imposing. He
+was small of stature, muscular and awkward, with a short snub nose.
+When he was introduced to Mozart, the latter was rather cool in his
+praise of his musical performances, considering them pieces learned by
+heart simply for purposes of parade. Beethoven, thereupon requested
+Mozart to give him a subject, that he might try his powers of musical
+improvisation. Charmed with the ability displayed in the execution of
+the task thus imposed on his young visitor, Mozart exclaimed: “Mark
+that young man! the world will hear of him some day.” Beethoven,
+however, received very little instruction from Mozart, who was so
+deeply engaged, just at this time, with the composition of his _Don
+Giovanni_, and so sorely tried by adverse circumstances, that he played
+very little for him, and could give him only a few lessons. Besides,
+Beethoven’s mother was now taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks
+he had to return home, where other blows of a hard fate awaited him.
+His kind, good mother, was snatched from him by death, and his father’s
+unfortunate weakness for strong drink obtained such a mastery over
+him that he was deprived of his position shortly after. The duty of
+supporting his two younger brothers was thus imposed on Ludwig, the
+eldest.
+
+Young Beethoven was thus taught many a severe lesson early in life, in
+the hard school of adversity. But his trials were not without advantage
+to him. They gave to his character that iron texture which upheld him
+under the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to Bonn a misfortune.
+He there found the very advantages which he had gone to seek in the
+musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian Francis, Elector of Cologne,
+the friend and patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes of the
+preceding century, who made their courts the sanctuary of culture and
+of art.
+
+Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria Theresa. He had received the
+careful training, for which that imperial house was noted, and he found
+in Joseph II an example in every way worthy of imitation. He was as
+faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to his duties as a ruler,
+and as adverse to what he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
+Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors, who had left
+the country in a state of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
+endeavored to bring order out of chaos and to spread prosperity among
+his people. A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court as long as
+he presided in it. He was still young, not much over thirty, and a man
+of the truest principles. Speaking of him as “that most humane and best
+of princes,” a contemporary writer says: “People had grown accustomed
+to think of Cologne as a land of darkness, but when they came to the
+Elector’s court, they quickly changed their mind.” The members of the
+orchestra of the court especially, among whom our young court organist
+is to be reckoned, were, we are told, very intelligent, right thinking
+men, of elegant manners and unexceptionable conduct.
+
+The Elector had opened the University in 1776, and established a
+public reading-room, which he visited with no more ostentation than
+any one else. “All these institutions, as I looked upon it, had sworn
+allegiance to an unknown genius of humanity, and, for the first time in
+my life, my mind had a glimmer of the meaning and majesty of science,”
+writes the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could Beethoven have
+thought differently? He had, it is true, devoted himself so exclusively
+to music that he had made very little progress in anything else. In
+the use of figures he always found great difficulty, and his spelling
+was worse than could be easily tolerated even in his own day, when
+orthography was a rather rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
+French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher intellectual culture
+which, at this time, swept through Bonn and influenced him likewise
+through his intimate intercourse with the most highly cultivated people
+of the city, soon lifted him to heights unattained by other artists and
+musicians of his century--heights from which he continually discerned
+new fields of action. As a consequence of this intercourse with the
+learned, he acquired intellectual tastes in various directions, and so
+seriously occupied himself with things intellectual that they became a
+necessity to his nature. He tells us himself that, without laying the
+least claim to real learning, it had been his endeavor from childhood
+to acquaint himself with what was best and wisest in every age. But
+these intellectual leanings did not prevent him from being, as the
+painter Kuegelgen said of himself, lovingly devoted to his art. And his
+own beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated in Bonn
+with a greater earnestness and devotion than any other.
+
+The writer referred to above, speaking of the Elector, says: “Not only
+did he play himself, but he was an enthusiastic lover of music. It
+seemed as if he could never tire of hearing it. Whenever he went to
+a concert, he was the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
+And no wonder; for the musical instruction given to the children of
+Maria Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music in Vienna was
+at that time at its height. That city was the scene of the labors of
+Gluck, Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only good music to be heard
+in the “cabinet” at Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished pianist,
+contributed his share to this; and we need not be surprised to find him
+employed by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.
+
+But it was not musicians alone who were benefited by prince’s
+patronage. No sooner did the condition of the country leave him
+the necessary leisure, and the state of its finances afford him the
+necessary means, than he turned his best attention to the theater and
+the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian Francis had organized
+an orchestra, and our young court organist took a place in it as
+a player of the tenor violin. The violinist, Ries, and Simrock, a
+performer on the French horn, were also members of it. Ries and Simrock
+had henceforth much to do with Mozart. The following year, a troupe
+visited Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles, as well
+as Gluck’s _Alceste and Orpheus_. They were followed by Grossmann,
+a person of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished place
+in the history of German dramatic art. His repertory included the
+plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and Goethe, with all of whom
+Beethoven thus became acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
+Francis established a national theater, and, dating from this, dramatic
+poetry and music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it took its place,
+in this respect, side by side with Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and
+became a school well calculated to foster the great abilities of
+Beethoven. In the orchestra we find such men as Andreas, Bernhard
+Romberg and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as a writer on
+the theory of music. The latter was, at this time, Beethoven’s most
+intimate friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come upon the
+stage, many of whom subsequently filled all Germany with their fame.
+Dramatic works of every description appeared. There was Martin’s _Tree
+of Diana_, Mozart’s _Elopement from the Seraglio_, Salieri’s _Grotto
+of Trophonius_, Dittersdorf’s _Doctor and Apothecary_, and _Little Red
+Riding Hood_, Gluck’s _Pilgrim of Mecca_, besides Paisiello’s _King
+Theodore_, and greatest of all, _Don Giovanni_. The music “pleased
+connoisseurs;” and _Figaro’s Marriage_ greatly charmed both singers and
+the members of the orchestra, who vied with one another to do justice
+to that beautiful opera. “The strength of our theater,” says a writer
+of the time, characteristically and simply, “lay in our opera.”
+
+This continual contemplation of “characters in tone” played a decided
+part in the development of an artist who was destined to infuse into
+instrumental music so much of poetical and even of dramatic life.
+We are informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating character in
+the language of music was so great, even at this time, that when
+improvising, which he was very fond of doing, he was frequently
+asked “to describe the character of some well-known person.” One
+distinguishing peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a marked
+influence in the development of the great symphonist of the future,
+Beethoven. We refer to what has been called “the accurate observation
+of musical light and shade, or of the _forte_ and _piano_.” This
+musical peculiarity was introduced into the Bonn orchestra by a former
+_capellmeister_, Mattioli, “a man full of fire and refined feeling,”
+who had learned orchestral accentuation and declamation from Gluck,
+and whose musical enthusiasm caused him to be considered the superior
+of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such a part in Mozart’s life, and
+who had originated this mode of musical delivery in Germany. He was
+succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under whose energetic leadership the Bonn
+orchestra reached its highest point of perfection. In the autumn of
+1791, we find that entire orchestra in Mergentheim, the seat of the
+German order of which Maximilian Francis was Grand Master; and we have
+an account of it from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear idea of
+Beethoven’s life as a student.
+
+Our informant tells us, in the first place, that he was very much
+impressed by an octet of wind instruments. All eight players were, he
+says, masters who had reached a high degree of truth and perfection,
+especially in the sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one of
+Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How Ries infused life and spirit
+into all by his sure and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What once
+could be heard only in Mannheim, we are told, was now heard here--the
+close observance of the _piano_ and the _forte_ and the _rinforzando_,
+the swell and gradual growth of tone, followed by the dropping of the
+same from the utmost intensity to the merest breath. Bernhard Romberg’s
+playing is lauded for “perfection of expression and its fine shades of
+feeling which appeal to the heart;” his cousin Andreas’s for “taste in
+delivery,” and the true art of his “musical painting.” Can we wonder
+that Beethoven’s emulation of, and struggling for the mastery with
+such men contributed constantly to develop his genius? He is praised
+for the peculiar expression of his playing, and above all for the
+speaking, significant, expressive character of his fancy. Our informant
+says, in closing his account: “I found him wanting in nothing which
+goes to make the great artist. All the superior performers of this
+orchestra are his admirers. They are all ears when he plays, but the
+man himself is exceedingly modest and without pretension of any kind.”
+
+We have now seen what was Beethoven’s technical training both by
+practice and example, on the organ and the piano, in the theater and
+the orchestra, and how all these were to him a school of musical
+composition; for the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with Mozart
+and Haydn as we of to-day are with Beethoven. How thoroughly he
+comprehended and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested by what
+he once said to John Cramer, the only piano player to whom Beethoven
+himself applied terms of high praise. The two were walking, in 1799, in
+the park in Vienna, listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor. “Cramer!
+Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed, when he heard the simple and beautiful
+theme near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish anything
+like that.” “What a modest man!” was the reply. This leads us to say
+something of the few beautiful, purely human gifts which were the fruit
+Beethoven enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.
+
+In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with her four children, who were
+only a little younger than our court organist. Beethoven and one of
+the sons, Stephan, received instruction in music from Ries, and were
+thus thrown together. But it was not long before our young artist
+himself was called upon to teach the piano in the family of Madame von
+Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his good mother had succumbed
+to her many sufferings and sorrows, we learn from the first letter
+of his that has come down to us. We there read: “She was so good and
+amiable a mother to me! She was my best friend. O, who was happier
+than I while I could yet pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
+was once some one to hear me when I said ‘mother!’ But to whom can I
+address that name now? Only to the silent pictures of her which my
+fancy paints.” But Madame von Breuning became a second mother to him;
+and what her home was, we are informed by Doctor Wegeler, afterwards
+husband of Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore, for a time one of
+Beethoven’s pupils. He writes: “Her home was pervaded by an atmosphere
+of unconstrained refinement, spite of an occasional outburst of the
+petulance of youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early to the writing
+of little poems. Stephan did the same thing at a much later date, and
+successfully. The useful and agreeable were found combined in the
+little social entertainments of family friends. It was not long before
+Beethoven was treated as one of the children. He spent the greater part
+of the day in Madame Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the night.
+He felt at home in the family, and everything about him contributed to
+cheer him and to develop his mind.” When it is known, on the authority
+of the same Doctor Wegeler, that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
+that Beethoven first became acquainted with German literature, that
+there he received his first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to
+estimate the value to him of the friendship of the Breuning family--a
+friendship which was never interrupted for a moment during his long
+life.
+
+It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse with the Breuning
+family that he felt the first, charming intimations of the tender
+passion. Wegeler makes mention of two young ladies, one of whom, a
+pretty, cheerful and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of Cologne,
+was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s. She took delight in teasing
+our young musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:
+
+  “Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,
+  Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,
+  Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”[A]
+
+His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections was a captain in the
+Austrian army, by the name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823, in the
+written conversations of our deaf master. He was just as much taken
+with the sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold), but to no purpose.
+He called his love for her a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
+after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes about it. What he
+thought of his acquaintance with the Breuning family and these two
+young persons may be inferred from the words in which he dedicated the
+variations _Se vuol ballare_, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore Breuning)
+in 1793: “May this work,” he says, “serve to recall the time when I
+spent so many and such happy hours in your home.”
+
+Besides the home of the Breunings, in which Beethoven was always
+so welcome, we may mention another--that of Count Waldstein, to
+whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The count was very friendly to
+Beethoven. He was aware of his genius, and, on that account, afforded
+him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to spare the artist’s feelings, this
+assistance was made to have the appearance of coming from the Elector.
+It may be that it was this same amiable and art-loving young Austrian
+who endeavored to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the one place in
+the world in which he could receive the final touch to his musical
+education,--Vienna. The very multitude of Beethoven’s ideas, and
+the height to which his intellect had soared, showed him that he was
+far from having reached perfection in the artistic representation of
+those ideas. His readiness of execution and his wonderful power of
+improvisation, even now, assured him victory wherever he went. But the
+small number of compositions which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is
+sufficient proof that he did not feel sure of himself as a composer.
+And yet he had now reached an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
+composer of operas.
+
+In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to London, passed through Bonn,
+and was presented to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis, in person.
+He returned in the summer of 1792, and as Mozart had died in the
+meantime, nothing was more natural than that Beethoven should apply to
+the greatest living musician for instruction. The Elector assisted him;
+and we may divine how the young musician’s heart must have swelled, now
+that he had entered the real wrestling-place in his art, from what,
+as we stated before, he said to his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become
+a great man,” etc. But what was there that is not expected from such
+a person? Waldstein expressed the “realization of his long contested
+wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s album: “By uninterrupted industry,
+thou wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the hands of Haydn.” When
+the wars of the Revolution swept over the boundaries of France, the
+excitement produced was great and universal. Beethoven was affected
+only by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of the grotesque
+ridiculousness of the _sans culottes_ and the blood of the guillotine.
+After a short journey, in November, 1792, Vienna afforded him a safe
+retreat which he never afterwards left. It was not long before the
+French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian Francis was obliged to
+flee, and thus every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home was lost.
+
+It now became imperative that he should take care of himself. His
+two brothers were provided for--Karl was a musician and Johann an
+apothecary. They soon followed him to Vienna, where it was not long
+before they renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn. But his own
+constant endeavor was to be the creative artist that, as he became
+more firmly convinced every day, he was born to be. His studies
+under Haydn, then under Schenk, with whom the readers of the Life of
+Mozart are familiar from his connection with the opera of the _Magic
+Flute_, afterwards under the dry-as-dust Albrechtsberger, the teacher
+of counterpoint, and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy, Salieri--were
+earnestly and zealously pursued, as is evident from what he has left
+after him. But even now his mind was too richly developed and his
+fancy too lofty to learn anything except by independent action. Ten of
+Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived in Bonn; but, during his
+first sojourn in Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from his pen,
+and we cannot but suppose that the germs of many of these last were
+sown during the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We conclude this
+chapter with a list of the works here referred to.
+
+Besides his first attempts at musical composition already mentioned,
+a concerto for the piano written in 1784, and three quartets for the
+piano written in 1785, which were afterwards made use of in the
+sonatas op. 2, we must add, as certainly dating from this period of
+Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count Waldstein (1791), a trio
+for the piano in E flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
+in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this op. as Goethe’s
+_Mailied_, a part of the Bagatellen op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the
+two preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803, the variations _Vieni
+Amore_ (1790), a funeral cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790),
+and one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of which was submitted
+to Haydn and which he thought a great deal of--both of these latter
+compositions are lost--an allegro and minuet for two flutes, a rondino
+for reed instruments and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in 1796.
+
+In addition to these, there are, in all probability, many other
+compositions which were completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn
+in Vienna, and published at a still later date; the octet op.
+103, after which the quintet op. 4 was patterned before 1797, the
+serenade op. 8, which contained the germ of his nocturne op. 42; the
+Variations op. 66, on _Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen_, from the _Magic
+Flute_ (published in 1798); the variations on _God Save the King_,
+the Romance for the violin, both of which appeared in 1805, when
+Beethoven’s brother secretly published much of his music; the variation
+on _Se vuol ballare_ from Mozart’s _Figaro_; the _Es War Einmal_
+from Dittersdroff’s _Little Red Riding Hood_, the “See He Comes,”
+the Messias, and a theme by Count Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797),
+the _Easy Sonata_ in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von Breuning;
+the prelude in F minor (appeared in 1805), and the sextet for wind
+instruments, op. 71, which appeared in 1810.
+
+In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point to three hundred works
+which he had composed, among them the poetical sonatas of his youth.
+How little of sunshine and leisure must there have been in a life
+which, spite of its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
+reaped so little fruit! And even if we fix the date when the three
+trios op. 1, were composed in this period, when Beethoven was for the
+first time taught the meaning of the world and history, by the stormy
+movements of the last decade of the last century; and admit that the
+two concertos for the piano (op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
+wonderful fantasias with which he charmed the hearts and minds of the
+people of Bonn at that time, yet how little did he achieve! This fact
+is the most convincing proof of the truth of Beethoven’s own assertion,
+that fortune did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving his musical training
+out of consideration, Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
+Seldom was it brightened for any length of time by the smiles of joy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+1795-1806.
+
+THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
+
+  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
+    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s First
+    Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to Remove to the
+    North--New Compositions--His Improvisations--Disappointment in North
+    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in Austria--Neglects
+    His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the Eroica--Napoleon
+    I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His Deafness Again--Thoughts
+    of Marriage--The Guicciardi Family--Meaning of His Music--His
+    “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio--The
+    Lenore Overture--Other Compositions.
+
+
+The golden age of music in Vienna had not passed away when Beethoven
+came to that city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility, and a great
+many circles of the cultured found in music the very soul of their
+intellectual life and of a nobler existence. A consequence of this was
+that more attention was paid to chamber music than any other; and we
+accordingly find that the greater number of Beethoven’s compositions,
+written at this period, are of that style of music. Their very
+dedications tell us much of the social circles of Vienna, and of the
+persons who graced them.
+
+First of all, we have the three trios op. 1, dedicated to Prince Karl
+von Lichnowsky. The man who had been the pupil and friend of Mozart
+might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute found so soon for that
+departed genius. A quartet consisting of the able artists Schuppanzigh,
+Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler
+informs us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with the Prince, who, at a
+later date, paid him a salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
+on _Seht er Kommt_, (See he comes) 1797, were dedicated to his consort,
+the Princess Christiane, _nee_ Thun. She prized Beethoven very highly,
+and, as he once said of her himself, would have liked to encase him in
+glass, that he might be screened from the defiling breath and touch of
+the unworthy. The first three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
+and they introduce us to his special patron, the Prince Esterhazy, with
+whom Beethoven was not very intimate, although the commission to write
+the mass op. 86 was given by Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
+well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24 (1800), and the string
+quintet op. 29 (1801), are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much in
+Beethoven’s life to show that he was on terms of close friendship with
+this rich “merchant.” The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated to Countess
+Keglevics. The first concerto, which was finished in 1794, is dedicated
+to the same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi. The trios op. 9,
+as well as the brilliant sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
+to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven himself called _le premier
+Mecene de sa muse_, and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort. To
+the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the trio op. 11, composed the same
+year, and the sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers in Vienna.
+
+How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky is evidenced by the dedication
+to him of op. 14, the _Pathetique_ (1799). In it we find the earliest
+expression of Beethoven’s view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
+innermost nature, calling to him to live a higher life. To Lichnowsky,
+likewise, was dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful funeral
+march (1802). The two lovely sonatas op. 14 of the year 1799, as
+well as the sonata for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to the
+Countess Braun, whose husband gave Beethoven, some years after, the
+commission for the _Fidelio_; and the quintet op. 16 which was finished
+in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg. When we connect the name of Prince
+Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed in 1797-1800; that
+of Baron von Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord with the
+first symphony op. 21 (1800), that of the learned von Sonnenfels with
+the so-called pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see the force of
+the remark made by J. F. Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
+period loved and appreciated music better probably than any other in
+the history of the world. That they did not continue to do so is due
+entirely to the fact of the general disturbance of their pecuniary
+circumstances consequent on the wars which came to an end only in 1815,
+and which diminished their favorable influence on the cultivation of
+the art of music. But our artist had all the advantages of this noble
+patronage. He spared no pains nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his
+mind could not rest in the mere enjoyment of music. It sought other
+and higher spheres. His art was destined to absorb into itself the
+whole world of culture, to take an active part in the march of history
+and co-operate in giving expression to the ideas of life. The first
+real exploits of our artist were the _Eroica_ and the _Fidelio_ with
+the Leonore overture; but the path which led to them was one on which
+those immediately surrounding him could not very well follow him, and
+one which subsequently isolated him personally more and more from his
+fellow men.
+
+It was an ill-defined longing for this starry path of a higher
+intellectual existence which brought him to the north of Germany, to
+Berlin, after he had finished the principal parts of the course in
+music under Haydn, Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he did not
+meet with recognition and remuneration in his new home. But, after
+all, the recognition and remuneration he met with there were such as a
+virtuoso might expect. For the present, neither the public nor music
+publishers would have much to do with his compositions. Writing to
+Schiller’s wife, the young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of him:
+“So far as my acquaintance with him goes, he is made for the great
+and the sublime. Haydn has said that he would give him great operas,
+and soon be compelled himself to stop composing.” He informs her, at
+the same time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s Hymn
+to Joy--_Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--to music. We thus see that
+he, even now, harbored those great ideas which engaged him at the
+close of his labors, in the composition of the Ninth Symphony. There
+were as yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of the intellectual
+awakening to which Germany is indebted for its earliest classical
+literature, and the period of its great thinkers in the west and the
+north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s own mind was too full of the
+“storm and stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful harmony and
+the warmth which had made such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
+in South-German Austria. But in the North, the memory of “old Fritz”
+still lived; there the stern rule of mind and conscience, generated
+by Protestantism, still prevailed, while the firm frame-work of his
+own art, the counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first father of
+harmony,” as he calls him himself, was there preserved, apparently, in
+its full strength. In addition to all this, the court there was fond
+of music, and King Frederick William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
+the greatest master of his time, in Berlin; while Beethoven, since the
+Elector’s flight from Bonn, had no further prospects in his home on the
+Rhine. He, therefore, decided to remove to the North.
+
+We find him on his journey thither at the beginning of 1796. “My
+music secures me friends and regard--what more do I want?” he writes
+from Prague to his brother Johann, who, in the meantime, had entered
+into the employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He here composed the
+aria _Ah Perfido_ (op. 65). On his way to Berlin he passed through
+Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these two cities, we have no
+information. The king received him very graciously; he played a few
+times at court and composed the sonatas for cello, op. 5, because
+the king himself played the violincello. The very first impression
+received by Beethoven seems to have been decisive. K. Czerny, to whom
+he taught the piano, tells us something from his own recollection and
+observation about him, which is very characteristic of the man, and
+shows how sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent expectations
+in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation was very brilliant, astonishing
+in the highest degree.... No matter in what society he was thrown, he
+made such an impression on all his hearers that it frequently happened
+that not a dry eye was to be seen, while many broke into sobs. There
+was something wonderful in his expression, besides the beauty and
+originality of his ideas, and the highly intellectual way he had of
+presenting them. When he had finished an improvisation of this kind he
+could break out into a fit of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers
+on the emotions he had excited. At times he even felt injured by those
+signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled
+children?’ and for that reason alone he once declined an invitation
+extended to him by the king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
+kind.”
+
+Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment of a very peculiar kind
+here. Instead of the manliness of character which he, coming from the
+softer South, expected to find in the North, he was confronted with
+a voluptuous luxury to which his art was only a handmaid, and with
+an apparent surfeit of music, the natural outgrowth of the French
+influence due to Voltaire’s residence in Berlin. Such was not the
+spirit of the new era which animated himself, and for the operation
+of which he was seeking a proper theater of action. The king himself
+did all in his power to make Gluck and Mozart settle in Berlin, and
+Handel’s oratorios were played even at the court concerts. But how
+could a man like Beethoven have worked side by side with the ruling
+leaders in music--with a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person in
+Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man, in the full sense of the word,
+was Prince Louis Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked of the
+prince’s playing that “it was not kingly or princely, but only that
+of a good piano player.” But it is probable that from the prince he
+borrowed the chivalric and, at the same time, poetico-enthusiastic
+character found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was finished in
+1800 and dedicated to the prince, “the most human of human beings.”
+
+He played twice in the Singing Academy before its conductor, Fasch,
+and his successor, Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he again
+brought the tears to the eyes of his hearers. But he clearly saw from
+the example of these two principal representatives of the more serious
+taste for music in Berlin, that it was not Bach’s spirit which he was
+in search of that ruled there, but only a caricature of it; and this
+last was by no means a counterpoise to the Italian style of music,
+which still held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna disappointed
+in every respect, but with all the greater confidence in himself. He
+never again left Austria for good. It became the scene of his grandest
+achievements, and it was not long before their history began.
+
+In a small memorandum book used by Beethoven on his journey from Bonn
+to Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take courage. Spite of all
+physical weakness, my mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
+year, and must now be all that I can be. Nothing must be left undone.”
+The father always represented Beethoven to be younger than he really
+was. Even in 1810, the son would not admit that he was forty years
+of age. The words quoted above must, therefore, have been written in
+the winter of 1796 or 1797; and this fact invests them with a greater
+significance than they would otherwise possess; for our artist now saw
+that, without the shadow of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
+abiding places; and he, therefore, strained every nerve, regardless
+of what the consequences might be, “to be a great man sometime;” that
+is, to accomplish something really good in music. This regardlessness
+of consequences manifested itself especially in the little care he
+seemed to take of his physical well-being. A friend, who had every
+opportunity to observe him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that “in
+the summer of 1796, he came home almost overpowered by the heat, tore
+open the doors and windows of the house, took off his coat and vest and
+seated himself at an open window to cool himself. The consequence of
+his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which ultimately settled on the
+organs of hearing. From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
+It is possible that the first symptoms of his deafness did not appear
+as early as 1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into the last
+decade of the last century, that it was brought about by heedlessness
+of his health, and that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
+His genius was so absorbed in his music, that he too frequently forgot
+to take care of the physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan von
+Breuning remarked of him, that “his travels had contributed to mature
+his character; that he was a better judge of men, and had learned
+to appreciate the value, but, at the same time, the rarity of good
+friends.” The hard trials of life had added to the earnestness of his
+disposition, and he was awakening to a full sense of what his own duty
+in this world was. This leads us to the first great and memorable work
+of his genius--to the _Eroica_, followed soon after by the symphony in
+C minor.
+
+When, in the year 1806, one of his friends informed Beethoven of
+Napoleon’s victory at Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
+understand the art of war as well as I do the art of music. If I did
+I certainly would conquer him.” These words express a rivalry almost
+personal in its nature, and could have been spoken only by a fool or
+by a man of power not unlike that of Napoleon himself. And, indeed,
+leaving out of consideration men of genius like Goethe and Schiller,
+whose fame had been long established on a firm foundation, there were
+among his contemporaries men of sovereign ambition, only one person,
+Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any great impression on a man who had
+chosen for his motto: “Power is the moral code of men who distinguish
+themselves above others; and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
+brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by the General of the
+glorious French Republic, who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
+Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the throne of Sweden in our
+day, had participated in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
+Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of 1798. He was young; by his
+origin he belonged to the middle class; he was the representative of
+the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge, unconstrained, in personal
+intercourse with whomsoever he pleased.
+
+The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer, to whom Beethoven’s
+_Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
+was very natural that once Bernadotte and Kreutzer became acquainted
+with Beethoven, their intercourse with him and their friendship for
+him, should have been more than usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was
+sincerely devoted to Napoleon, and who must have felt himself drawn
+still more closely to Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
+general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating the exploits of his
+hero by a symphony. Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler, in
+1823, and his account is corroborated by other facts, that such was the
+first impulse to the composition of the _Eroica_.
+
+But the advocate of power was destined soon to swell to the proportions
+of the hero of intellectual courage. “For thus does fate knock at
+the gates.” Beethoven used these words in 1823, in speaking “with
+uncontrollable enthusiasm” of that wonderful _motive_ at the opening
+of the symphony in C minor. The last movement of the work, the
+fanfare-like _finale_, so expressive of the joy of victory, shows that
+he here described a victory indeed, the surmounting of the obstacles
+and darkness of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
+consisted only of “the infirmities of the body.” The sketches of this
+movement, however, occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18, and hence
+must have been noted down before the year 1800! But the fact that the
+melody of the _adagio_ was also found in that sketch shows that he
+was even then as certain of mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of
+the presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of the sad prospect of a
+“wretched” and lonely future--a prospect which stirred him to the very
+depths of his soul.
+
+But it was years before these _motives_ took shape in his mind. To
+do justice to the great ideas to which they give expression, to the
+heroic victory of power and will over whatever opposes them, he had to
+concentrate and strengthen all his powers of mind and heart, and to
+develop his talents by long exercise. The portraiture of the struggles
+and of the artistic creations of the next succeeding years constitutes
+the transition to those first great heroic deeds--a transition which
+must be understood by all who would understand Beethoven’s music.
+
+The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven, at the close of the last
+century, outgeneraled all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time
+in Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph over the renowned
+pianist Woelffl, in 1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But he
+did still more towards achieving success by his works. His numerous
+variations won over to him many a fair player of the piano, while his
+_Adelaide_, which appeared in 1797, gained for him the hearts of all
+persons of fine feeling; so that Wegeler may have told the simple
+truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never, at least so long as I lived
+in Vienna (1794-96), without a love affair; and he occasionally made
+a conquest which it would have been very hard, if not impossible, for
+many a handsome Adonis to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked man, with
+the piercing eyes, was possessed of a power and beauty more attractive
+than any mere physical charms. And then, there was the charm of his
+sonatas: op. 7, with the funeral song in _adagio_, which he is said to
+have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”; of op. 10, with
+its genuine masculine profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
+with the mysterious struggle in the _allegretto_ in No. II., and the
+brilliant exultation of victory in the _allegro_ in No. III., the
+tragic song of the _largo_, the gentle grace of the minuet--here used
+exceptionally in the place of the _scherzo_, as we find it already in
+op. 1; and, last of all, the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
+_finale_. And yet these were followed by the _Pathetique_, with its
+exquisite and enrapturing _adagio_, and the two beautiful love songs,
+op. 14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he offered to a society
+of friends of his art, true songs of the soul and pictures of life
+overflowing; by the _adagio_ of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet grave
+scene; by the _adagio_ of No. VI., descriptive of the melancholy which,
+even now, began to gather its dark clouds about Beethoven himself,
+whose breast was so well attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
+20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21), sketched after the style of
+Haydn, but painted with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in what
+we may call Beethoven’s older life, which closed with the eighteenth
+century. The beginning of the nineteenth opened a new world to our
+artist.
+
+The new world thus opened to Beethoven, and the manner in which he
+himself conceived it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
+verses:
+
+  “Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige
+  Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,
+  In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!
+  Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,
+  Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,
+  Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.
+  Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,
+  Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,
+  Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”
+
+And now began for Beethoven a period of severe trials, brought upon him
+by himself. Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient care of
+his physical health. His trouble with his hearing was increasing, but
+he paid no attention to it. His carelessness in this regard reduced him
+to a condition in which he would have found no alleviation and no joy,
+were it not for the inexhaustible resources he possessed within himself.
+
+But to understand him fully, we must read what he wrote himself,
+in June, 1801, to the “best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in
+Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before. He says:
+
+  “Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He is in conflict with
+  nature and with God. Many and many a time have I cursed Him because
+  He has made His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
+  nature, and this to such an extent that what promises to be best and
+  most beautiful in life, is destroyed. You must know that what was
+  most precious to me, my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How
+  sad my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved is gone!
+  How happy would I now be, if I could only hear as I used to hear!
+  If I could, I would fly to thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My
+  best years will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of my
+  youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly hoped I would. I must
+  now take refuge in the sadness of resignation.”
+
+We have here the words to the long-drawn funereal tones of a song as we
+find it at the beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor (_Mondschein_)
+sonata op. 27 No. II, which belongs to this period. The direct
+incentive to its composition was Seume’s poem, _die Beterin_ in which
+he gives us a description of a daughter praying for her noble father,
+who has been condemned to death. But in this painful struggle with
+self, we also hear the storm of passion, in words as well as in tones.
+Beethoven’s life at this time was one of sorrow. He writes: “I can say
+that I am living a miserable life. I have more than once execrated my
+existence. But if possible I shall bid defiance to fate, although there
+will be, I know, moments in my life when I shall be God’s most unhappy
+creature.” The thunders of power may be heard in the _finale_ of that
+sonata. When it was published, the following year, its dedication
+ran: _Alla damigella contessa Giulietta Guicciardi_. The celebrated
+Giulietta! Her friendship was, indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in
+Beethoven’s “wretched life” at this time. As he writes himself in the
+fall of the year 1801:
+
+  “My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about among men more than
+  I used to. I am indebted for this change for the better to a lovely,
+  charming girl who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now I
+  have had once more some moments of happiness, and for the first time
+  in my life I feel that marriage might make one happy. Unfortunately,
+  she does not belong to my social circle. But if I cannot get married
+  at the present time, I shall have to mix more among men.”
+
+The family of the imperial counsellor, Count Guicciardi, originally
+from Modena, was one of the families of the higher class with whom
+Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance through his art.
+Guicciardi’s wife belonged to the Hungarian family of the Brunswicks,
+who were likewise very friendly to Beethoven. We shall yet have
+something to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for whom and whose
+sister, the charming Countess Deym, the variations for four hands on
+_Ich denke dein_, were written in 1800. Countess Giulietta was in
+her sixteenth year, and as good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg,
+a musician and composer of ballet music. He was, however, in such
+pecuniary straits that Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to his
+assistance through a friend. The young girl did not give any serious
+thought to a union with the Count, although he belonged to her own
+social circle. The attractions of a genuine love had more charms for
+her. This same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s soul. He writes
+to his friend Wegeler:
+
+  “I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was I not always a
+  sickly man? But, for a time, my physical strength has been increasing
+  more than ever before, and the same is true of my mental power. With
+  every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal which I feel, but
+  cannot describe. Thus only can I live. No rest! I know of no repose
+  but sleep, and it sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time
+  to sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half freed from my
+  trouble and then, a perfectly mature man, I shall come to you and
+  renew our old friendship. You must see me as happy as it is given me
+  to be here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is more than I
+  could bear. I shall struggle manfully with fate, and be sure, it will
+  not overcome me entirely. O, how beautiful it would be to live life
+  over a thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”
+
+To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which lifted him to the height
+of joy and of intellectual delight, we are indebted for those works of
+his which are models of poetic creation. What became of the traditional
+form of the sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song the meaning of
+joy and pain and of their wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
+op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which looks as if thrown off
+with a single stroke of the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
+of fate in the opening chord; the jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment
+of pleasure; the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation
+than realization, when misery wrings a cry of pain from him, and he
+breaks out in recitative--a form of art never before coupled with an
+instrument, but which is here more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy
+and genius have now transformed the mere musician into the artist and
+the poet. Beethoven, as the master of the intellectual world of tones,
+began his career with this sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
+his every piece is a psychological picture of life. The form of the
+sonata had now fully developed the intellectual germ which in it lay.
+It is no longer mere form, but a finite vessel holding an infinite
+intellectual treasure as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
+although retained as usual, are henceforth only phases and stages of
+the development of that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a drama
+played in the recesses of a human soul--in the soul of a man who is
+forced to taste, while still he laughs in his melancholy, the tragic
+contents of the cup of human life during every moment of his existence.
+For thus it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow endows him with
+untrammeled serenity of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent of a
+higher light. A humor that weeps through its smiles is henceforth his.
+
+On this sonata followed a symphony with the real Beethoven flavor, the
+second symphony (op. 36). It had its origin in the “sublime feeling”
+which “animated” him in the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
+also the brilliant _Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47). This summer of 1802 is
+a memorable one in Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the severest
+trials of his courage as a man. These trials transformed him into a
+hero, and were the incentives to the composition of the _Eroica_. To
+this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt Will,” which discloses
+to us the inmost depths of Beethoven’s soul.
+
+His physician had ordered him in October, 1802, to the village of
+Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
+Beethoven thought that death was not far off, and, anxious to justify
+himself before posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you men, who
+think or say that I am malignant, obstinate or misanthropic, what an
+injustice you do me! You know not the secret cause of what you think
+you see. From childhood up, my heart and mind have been bent upon the
+accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever moved thereto by the feeling
+of benevolence. To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed. But
+consider that for six--yes, six whole years, I have been in a most
+unfortunate condition--a condition which has been made worse by the
+stupidity of my physicians; that my hopes, from year to year, of being
+cured have been disappointed, and that at last there lies before me
+the prospect of permanent ill. Born with an active and even fiery
+temperament, a lover of the distractions of society, I had to live in
+a state of isolation from all men. How humbled I felt when a person
+standing near me could hear a flute that was playing in the distance,
+while I could hear nothing! Experiences like this brought me to the
+very verge of despair, and I came very near ending my own life. Art
+alone held me back. It seemed to me impossible that I should leave
+the world until I had accomplished all for which I felt myself so
+well fitted. O God, thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
+beneficence and love for human kind. O you men, when you read this,
+remember that you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate rejoice to
+find one of their number who, spite of the obstacles put in his way by
+nature, did all in his power to be admitted into the ranks of artists
+and men worthy of the name.”
+
+And now, too, we find in his music the first traces of such appeals
+to the Godhead. The text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
+appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature. But, in the domain of
+religion, our artist had not yet risen to his full height. He is still
+preponderantly the musician of life, force and of the brilliant play
+of the intellect; and his compositions are still pre-eminently works
+of art and of the fancy. The _Eroica_ (op. 55), which was finished
+in 1803, possessed these characteristics in the highest sense of the
+word. And now we may understand what he felt himself, as he said in his
+“Will,” fitted to accomplish, as well as the mysterious conversation
+he had in 1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which he speaks of
+this period of his life, and of Giulietta, who had now long been the
+Countess Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before, returned from
+Naples, where her husband had acted as director of the theater for
+years. The conversation in question begins thus: It was held in the
+French language--
+
+Beethoven--“She was mine before she was her husband’s or Italy’s, and
+she paid me a visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”
+
+Schindler--“By Hercules!”
+
+Beethoven--“If I had parted in that way with my strength, as well as my
+life, what would have remained to me for nobler and better things?”
+
+Beethoven had said of himself that he had something to do in the
+world besides marrying. His ideal was not to live in such cramped
+circumstances. He knew of “nobler and better things.” Yet it seems
+that he offered his hand to the “lovely, charming girl” in this year
+1803, when he began to have a prospect of permanently bettering his
+condition, and that Giulietta was not disinclined to marry him.
+But family considerations prevented the decisive step; and she was
+married in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg. “Despising”
+her--whether rightly or wrongly we have no means of determining, but we
+do know that she was not happy--Beethoven turned to the performance of
+the great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.
+
+Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand others, thus proves the
+truth of the old saying: the course of true love never did run
+smooth. In his earlier biographies this episode has been treated as
+a great and even tragic event, because that remarkable letter to his
+“immortal love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to speak, was
+erroneously supposed to be addressed to Countess Guicciardi and to
+refer to this circumstance in his life. But although no more than an
+episode, Beethoven could here have mastered his feelings only by the
+full consciousness he now possessed of the duty he owed to his genius.
+As Liszt says, _le genie oblige_, and Beethoven felt that it was a
+duty genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition and even the
+heartfelt happiness that is born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
+wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter: “You paint, and I shall
+compose music. In this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps live
+forever.” And that our artist had some right to lay claim to such
+immortality is proved not only by his sonatas, which are little poems
+in themselves, by his songs and quartets, but by mighty and memorable
+works which reflect the world-soul. He was working on that grand
+creation, the _Eroica_. This sacrifice of his feelings may have been,
+and most likely was, forced upon him by the accident of the uncertainty
+of his position in life, but that it was not made without a struggle
+is manifest from his expression of contempt for Giulietta--_mais je
+la méprisais_ but still more from the ideal of the value of faithful
+love which now became rooted in his soul, and which we see reflected
+in the _Fidelio_, that immediately followed the _Eroica_, and which
+presents us with the most beautiful of all female characters. In its
+composition, we find united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
+in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and which he so beautifully
+embodied in his art. On the golden background of his enthusiasm for
+“nobler and better things,” the sweet face of Leonore stands out in
+bold relief as the perfect type of human beauty.
+
+Beethoven borrowed the tones of the _Eroica_ from the elevating nature
+of humanitarian ideas transferred to the region of public life.
+The hero enters, touching with giant hands the foundations of human
+existence, which he wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And, indeed,
+the First Consul of the French Republic might very well suggest to
+him, at the beginning of this century, how heroes act, the jubilation
+with which nations greet them, how great existing institutions oppose
+their progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their might. The first
+movement of the _Eroica_ describes the most varied events in the life
+of such a hero with a fullness of episode almost destructive of its
+form. In its climax, the real work of the hero is seen; the old order
+of things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces in its powerful and
+terrific syncopations and dissonant chords, to make place for a new
+existence, one more worthy of human beings. But, at the close of the
+movement, the victorious hero exultingly yokes the new order of things
+to his chariot. This is history, the world’s history in tones; and,
+for its sake, we may for the moment shroud the dearest longings of the
+heart in the dark robes of resignation.
+
+Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended the genius of
+liberty, at this time newly born into the world, and a new factor in
+the history of mankind. He understood, too, the tragic fate of all
+heroes--that they are destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
+though God-commissioned, to die, that their works may live and prosper.
+Bonaparte’s history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime and solemn
+step of the funeral march; for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
+no man had stepped as did he through the spaces of the existing order
+of things. But Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far beyond the
+reality that surrounded him. As early as 1802, he wrote to the music
+dealers in Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers of the _Edition
+Peters_: “Away with you all, gentlemen! To propose to me to write
+such a sonata! That might have done in the time when the Revolution
+was at fever heat, but now that everything has returned to the old
+beaten path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat with the Pope,
+to write such a sonata--away with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore,
+who is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom mankind weeps in the
+tones of this funeral march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
+hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that is solemnly borne to
+the grave to the rhythm of this wonderful march--a march which has in
+it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare or an Æschylus.
+Beethoven in this march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
+music, and gave evidence of that quality of soul which made him
+indifferent to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”
+
+The two last movements of the work do not convey so powerful an idea
+of heroic action. Was it that his powers of imagination flagged, or
+that the change in Napoleon’s career made him disgusted with the hero?
+We know that when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the symphony was
+finished--the title, proudly and characteristically enough bearing
+only two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and “Luigi van Beethoven” at
+the bottom--and Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he said: “Can
+it be that he is no more than an ordinary man? Now he, like others,
+will trample all human rights under foot, serve only his ambition and
+become a tyrant.” He tore the title page in two, threw the work on the
+floor and did not again look at it for a long time. When it appeared
+in 1806, it was under the name of the _Sinfonia Eroica_, “composed
+to celebrate the memory of a great man.” It was dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, who purchased it and caused it to be performed before Prince
+Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of 1804. The Prince was so delighted with
+it that he had it played three times the same evening in immediate
+succession, which was a very great satisfaction to Beethoven.
+
+There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental fresco painting of
+a hero who strives and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
+to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the _Fidelio_, which made the
+latter the natural successor of the _Eroica_. Florestan dared “boldly
+to tell the truth,” and this, his entering the lists for right and
+freedom, incites his faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
+Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison, and, just in the nick
+of time, casts herself between her beloved husband and his murderer.
+Her cry--which has in it much of the heroism of death--“kill first
+his wife,” is a bit of history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally
+great, as it is also the most intense dramatic representation, in
+tones, of the full energy of a woman’s love.
+
+In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote: “I have composed music of
+every description, except operas and church music.” But even, a short
+time before this, he had something to do with the theater. He had
+written the ballet _Prometheus_, which represents in a sense, the
+history of the creation of man in choreographic pictures. The success
+of this work determined Schikaneder, well known to the readers of
+the life of Mozart, and who, at this time, had the direction of the
+newly-built theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a large annual
+stipend. When this man, Schikaneder, in the same spring of 1803, saw
+that the oratorio _Christus am Oelberge_ (Christ on the Mount of Olives)
+met with good success, although more theatrical than spiritual in its
+character, he commissioned him to write an opera also. The subject was,
+probably, _Alexander_--a very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
+own heroic style, and his feeling at the time. But nothing came of it.
+There can be no doubt, however, that a piece which he had sketched
+and intended to make a part of it, the duet, _O Namenlose Freude_ (O
+Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the _Fidelio_. Beethoven had
+received a commission to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who had
+taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in the year 1804.
+
+At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and Cherubini were writing for the
+Viennese. The compositions of the latter met with great success, and
+made a powerful impression on Beethoven. In these men he met with foes
+worthy of his steel, and inducements great enough to lead him to do
+his very best. His severe heart trials and consequent disappointment
+had taught him how lonely he was in the world. Breuning wrote of him
+in 1804: “You have no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable, and, I
+might say, horrible an impression his partial loss of hearing has made
+on him.... What must be the feelings of one with such a violent temper,
+to meet with such a misfortune! And then his reserve, and his distrust
+frequently of his best friend!” A subject like that of the _Fidelio_
+must, of itself, have taken strong hold of a man like Beethoven,
+because of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds her mortal enemy,
+Pizarro, spell-bound, with the pistol in her hand. What must have most
+affected him here, however, was the ideal background of suffering for
+truth and freedom--for Pizarro was a tyrant--and the fact that a woman
+had the power that comes of genuine fidelity to avert every danger from
+her beloved husband, even at the risk of her own life. And Beethoven
+endowed the work with his exalted and almost transfigured background of
+feeling, by means of his music, which here depicts the constitution of
+his own nature, and his whole intellectual build. He accurately hits
+the decisive climax of the conflict, and gives to the principal actors
+so much of real personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
+them, and to understand their action from their inner feelings. This,
+in connection with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
+of the dramatic characteristics which we greet in the _Fidelio_. The
+development of the operatic form as such is not further carried on
+in this work. In his pure instrumental music, even more than in the
+_Fidelio_, Beethoven has given form to the language of the soul and to
+the great hidden springs of action of the world and human nature.
+
+A period may come when stricter demands may be made on dramatic art,
+and when, as a consequence, this work may not have as much charm as
+it has for us, because of its fragmentary character. But be this as
+it may, in some of its details it will always appeal irresistibly to
+the finest feeling. We find in it passages like those in Beethoven’s
+improvisation which never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
+real happiness. The greater part of this language was, like Mozart’s
+Cantilene, rich in soul. Yet melodies like _Komm, Hoffnung, lass
+den letzten Stern_, _In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen_ and _O namen,
+namenlose Freude_, are of such a character that “humanity will never
+forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish food and light at
+the same time, and, like certain forces, produce a greater yield in
+proportion as greater demands are made upon them. We frequently find
+in it expressions that are simply inimitable, and when this work is
+contemplated we see that it bears evidence of a profundity of soul and
+of a development of mind which separate--_toto coelo_--Beethoven from
+his predecessors, Mozart not excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of
+the deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of the web and woof of
+the human soul itself. Such, for instance, are _Wir muessen gleich zu
+Werke schreiten_, the chorus of prisoners, the picture of Florestan’s
+dungeon, the digging of the grave, and above all the thrilling _Toet’
+erst sein Weib!_ (kill first his wife). But the center of all is,
+as may be seen from the innumerable and most refined traits of the
+music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity. Her character stirred
+Beethoven to the very depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
+her devotion to freedom were his own. The work itself was to be called
+_Leonore_, as, indeed, the first piano-score was called in 1810.
+
+This work has a meaning in the life of our artist himself, greater,
+almost, than its importance as a work of art.
+
+The work required, for its completion, only the spring and summer of
+the year 1805. The sketches of it show how carefully the file was used
+on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic devotion was able to
+smelt the ore of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes which make
+up the matter of the whole; but this it could not do here fully enough
+to produce that natural flow which dramatic taste even now demanded.
+Moreover, the storm of war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
+hearers of even the calm of devotion. The result was that only the
+prima donna Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the character
+of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as a composer of purely instrumental
+music, had not paid sufficient attention to the demands of the human
+voice. On the 13th of October, 1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after
+the 20th the _Fidelio_ was repeated three times; not, however, before
+the art lovers of Vienna, but before an audience composed of French
+officers. It was received with little applause, and after the first
+performance the house remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the work. But
+even the critics missed in it at this time “that certain splendor of
+originality characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our artist’s friends
+now gathered about him to induce him to make some abbreviations in the
+opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky. Beethoven was never before
+seen so much excited, and were it not for the prayers and entreaties
+of the gentle and tender Princess Christiane, he would certainly have
+agreed to nothing. He consented at last to drop a few numbers, but
+it took six full hours to induce him to do even this. It is easy to
+explain this fact: the work was the pet child of his brain. Breuning
+now re-arranged the libretto. He made the acting more vivacious and
+Beethoven shortened the several pieces still more. The work proved more
+acceptable to the public, but Beethoven thought himself surrounded by
+a network of intrigue, and, as he had agreed only for a share in the
+profits, he once more withdrew the work. We hear no more of it until
+1814. We shall see what effect its production had when we reach that
+date in Beethoven’s life.
+
+But this re-arrangement led to a new overture and to a new poetical
+expression of the subject, to the great _Leonoren-Overture_, known
+as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven, in this overture,
+lets us hear, as if in the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
+Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that flashes across his mind
+when he thinks of his Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
+in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of her own life for her
+beloved husband, and in the signal of trumpets, the coming of her
+rescuer; the calm joy of the unutterably happy husband, as well as the
+boisterous, stormy joy of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
+with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest song of praise of
+freedom and happiness. The symphonic poem, _Leonore_, as a whole, far
+surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together with the _Eroica_, it is
+the second monumental work of Beethoven’s genius in this early period
+of his musical creations, and proves him a matured master in his art.
+
+The proud path thus entered on, he never left.
+
+Besides the works already mentioned, we may, for the sake of
+completeness, mention the following likewise: The _Opferlied_ (1st
+arrangement), _Seufzer eines Ungeliebten_, variations _quant’è più
+bello_, about 1795; variations to _Nel cor più_ and minuet _a la
+Vigano_ which appeared in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
+for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and variations to a Russian
+dance, in 1797; variations to a Swiss song and _Mich brennt_, 1798;
+_Gretels Warnung_, _La partenza_, composed in 1798; variations to
+the _La stessa_, _Kind, willst du_ and _Taendeln und Scherzen_, which
+appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed in 1799; variations in G
+major, composed in 1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
+_Bei Maennern_ which appeared in 1802; terzetto op. 116, sonatas for
+violin, op. 30, variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802; _Glueck der
+Freundschaft_, op. 88 and _Zaertliche Liebe_ which appeared in 1803;
+trio variations op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed in
+1803; three marches op. 45, variations to “Rule Brittannia,” and the
+_Wachtelschlag_, 1804; sonata op. 53, together with the _andante_ in F
+major, originally belonging to it, the _triple concerto_ op. 56, and
+the sonata op. 57, begun in 1804, _An die Hoffnung_, op. 32 and trio
+op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth concerto op. 58, composed in
+1805; trio op. 36, sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; _Empfindungen
+bei Lydiens Untreue_ belonging probably to 1806.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+1806-1812.
+
+THE SYMPHONY C MINOR--THE PASTORALE AND THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.
+
+  The Pastorale--Its Composition--Meaning of the Apassionata--Its
+    History--Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own
+    Opinion of the Apassionata--New Acquaintances--Thinks of Writing
+    Operas--Court-theater Composer--Overture to Coriolanus--The Mass
+    in C., op. 86--His Sacred Music--The Fidelio in Prague--Music
+    for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral Code”--Power Expressed
+    in Beethoven’s Music--Character of His Works about this
+    Period--Intercourse with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op.
+    69--Other Compositions and their Meaning--Improvement in His
+    Pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna Fears to Lose
+    Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh Symphony--Wagner
+    on the Seventh Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to
+    Bettina--His Estimate of Genius.
+
+
+Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Will, written in the year 1802, closed with
+this painful appeal: “O thou, Providence, let one day more of joy dawn
+on me. How long have I been a stranger to the heartfelt echo of true
+happiness! When, when, O God, can I feel it once more in the temple of
+nature and of man. Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our artist’s
+thoughts were thus directed into channels which carried him far from
+the scenes immediately surrounding him into regions of a higher
+existence--of an existence which he soon described so exquisitely in
+the language of music. The _Pastorale_ which celebrates this “Temple
+of nature” was originally designated as No. 5, and was, therefore,
+intended to be completed before the symphony in C minor. But it would
+seem that Beethoven had to go through many an internal conflict, the
+result of his great depression of spirits, before he could acquire the
+calmness of mind necessary to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
+God in Nature,” and to give it proper form and expression in art.
+
+Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806, that the intrigues about the
+_Fidelio_ were all the more disagreeable to Beethoven because the fact
+that it had not been performed reduced him to some pecuniary straits,
+and that it would take all the longer time for him to recover, as the
+treatment he had received deprived him of a great deal of his love for
+his work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59, bears the memorandum:
+“Begun on the 26th of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony (op. 60), as
+well as the violin concerto (op. 61), also belong to this year. In the
+meantime op. 56, which had been begun some time previous, the triple
+concerto, op. 57, called the _Apassionata_, and op. 58, the fourth
+concerto, were all either continued or finished. What wealth there is
+here--in the number of compositions, in their magnitude and in their
+contents! The three quartets are dedicated to Count Rasumowsky, who had
+given Beethoven the commission to write them, and who had furnished the
+Russian melodies on which they are based. How well the _adagio_ of the
+second of them points us to that higher region in which Beethoven now
+felt himself more and more at home. He himself told Czerny that that
+_adagio_ suggested itself to him one night, when he was contemplating
+the starry heavens, and thinking of the harmony of the spheres. In the
+serene calmness of these vanishing tones, we see the revolution of the
+stars mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all pain seems lightened, all
+passion stilled. Yet how both had raged even in the _Apassionata_,
+the draft of which is to be found immediately following that of the
+_Fidelio_. The _Apassionata_ is written in his heart-blood. Its tones
+are cries of excitement the most painful. It was finished in the
+summer, and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick. An oil painting of the
+count’s sister, Countess Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
+after his death. It bore the superscription: “To the rare genius,
+the great artist, the good man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
+letter to his “immortal love,” already referred to, was addressed
+to her--and it is truly a letter which gives us a pen-picture of
+Beethoven’s condition of mind at that time, and which affords an idea
+of the “gigantic sweep of his ideas.” It was found after his death,
+together with other important papers, in an old chest, and is dated on
+July 6, from a watering place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
+have been written in the year 1806, in which Beethoven paid a visit to
+the Brunswicks. But, be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
+feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt on that sublime height on
+which all earthly desires are silent. It seems also to lead us over to
+the understanding and appreciation of Beethoven’s subsequent creations,
+which henceforth gain an ideal character not of this earth. We can here
+touch only on the principal points in these letters.
+
+  “My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he begin it on the 6th
+  of July, in the morning. He proceeds: “Only a few words to-day, and
+  those in lead-pencil, and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
+  be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What a wretched loss
+  of time for such trifles! Why this deep affliction where necessity
+  speaks? How can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
+  except by limitation of our desires? Can you change the fact that you
+  are not entirely mine nor I entirely yours? Look out on the beauties
+  of nature, and resign yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
+  and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your case. But you
+  forget too easily that I have to live for you as well as for myself.
+  Were we entirely one, you would feel the pain there is in this as
+  little as I.... We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
+  to-day what reflections I have made upon my life, during the past
+  forty-eight hours. Were our hearts always close to one another, I
+  am sure I should make no such reflections. My heart is too full to
+  tell you much. There are moments when I find that language is nothing
+  at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only pet, my all, as I am all
+  yours. The gods must direct the rest in our lives. Thy faithful
+
+                                                                LUDWIG.”
+
+But, on the same dainty little piece of note paper, he continues, for
+the mail had already left:
+
+  “You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am, you are with me. I must
+  try to so arrange it that our life may be one. But what, what a life
+  to be thus without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men which I
+  do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really do earn. That a man
+  should humble himself before his fellow man, pains me; and when I
+  consider myself as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
+  they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we find the divine in
+  that which is human.... No matter how great your love for me, my love
+  for you is greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good night!
+  Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas, that I should be so near
+  and yet so far from you. Is not our love a real firmament of heaven?
+  And is it not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”
+
+He takes up the same piece of paper once more:
+
+  “Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise my thoughts fly
+  to you, dear--to you, immortal love, now joyfully, now sadly, waiting
+  to see whether the fates will hear our prayer. If I shall live at
+  all, it must be with you. I am resolved to wander about far away
+  from you, until the time comes when I may fly into your arms, and
+  say that I belong to you; until I may send my soul absolved by you,
+  dear, into the land of spirits. Yes, unfortunately it must be so.
+  You will be all the more composed, since you know how faithful I am
+  to you. Another can never possess my heart--never! Why, O God, must
+  a man be so widely separated from the object of his love? And yet
+  the life I now live in Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
+  once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men. At my present
+  age, there should be some uniformity in my life; but is such a thing
+  possible in my present circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
+  contemplation of our existence can we gain our object and live
+  united. Be patient! love me! How I longed and wept for you to-day and
+  yesterday; you, my life, my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget
+  the most faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine and
+  thou forever mine.”
+
+How completely like Beethoven! It was during this very summer that he
+completed the _Apassionata_, which he always considered the greatest
+of his sonatas, at the home of the Brunswicks. Can it be said that
+its language is in anything greater than the language of this letter?
+He seems at this time to be nearly always possessed by a feeling of
+melancholy. But for this very reason he took refuge more than ever in
+music. It was, indeed, a real sanctuary to him, and he refused to open
+that sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of all, to the eyes
+of enemies. This he very plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
+the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and was spending some time in
+Silesia with the prince. The latter desired him to play for some French
+officers who were quartered in his castle. A violent scene immediately
+ensued. After it was over, Beethoven left the castle. He refused to go
+back with the prince who had followed him, but repaired, post haste,
+back to Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was broken to pieces
+as an expiatory sacrifice. It was not long, however, before the old
+friendship of the two was re-established.
+
+In the quartet sketches of this year, we find the words: “Just as you
+can cast yourself here into the whirl of society, it is possible to
+write operas spite of all social impediments. Let the fact that you
+do not hear be a mystery no longer, even in your music.” This “whirl
+of society” introduces us to some new acquaintances. Count Rasumowsky
+held very brilliant soirées, at which the amiable and charming wife
+of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed some of Beethoven’s works in
+an exquisite manner. The playing of the elegant and handsome Countess
+Marie Erdoedy, whom Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
+was not inferior to that of Madame Bigot. Other patrons of the musical
+art were Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming Frankfort lady, and
+the Malfattis, one of whom was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
+Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein, daughter of the Augsburg
+piano-maker, described in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll a manner,
+was the rendezvous of lovers of music. Nor must we forget to mention
+Prince Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother, the Archduke
+Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished pupil, who, as our artist himself
+admitted, understood music thoroughly.
+
+The chief value, however, of the works quoted above, is that they
+inform us how Beethoven, spite of his experience with the _Fidelio_,
+was thinking very seriously of the writing of “operas.” If successful
+here, his fortune was made, and there was nothing then to hinder the
+crowning of his love by marriage. There now seemed to be a very good
+prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807, the two court-theaters
+passed into the hands of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at
+their head. Lobkowitz immediately called upon Beethoven to act as
+composer for the Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position, and
+bound himself to write at least one great opera and operetta each
+year, and to supply whatever other music might be needed. A feeling of
+inexhaustible power must have inspired him at this time, when he was
+actuated by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence in self. A
+forcible proof of this is the overture which he then wrote to Collins’s
+_Coriolanus_. But the gentlemen did not accede to his wishes; they did
+not want to trust him as composer of instrumental music in this point;
+and thus Beethoven, although not particularly pleased by the action of
+his princely friends, was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
+in the field of labor most in harmony with his disposition.
+
+“If it be true that genuine strength and a fullness of deep feeling
+characterize the Germans, we must say that Beethoven was, above all,
+a German artist. In this, his most recent work, we cannot but admire
+the expressiveness and depth of his music, which so grandly painted
+the wild, perturbed mind of _Coriolanus_, and the sudden and terrible
+change in his fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.” These
+lines are from an account of a concert given in the _Augarten_ by
+Lichnowsky in the spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
+that Beethoven was now engaged on the symphony in C minor and on the
+_Pastorale_. Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a large and thriving
+music business in London, and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
+was French at the time, he felt at his ease so far as money matters
+were concerned. He writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807: “I
+can now hope to be able, in a few years, to maintain the dignity of
+a real artist.” And when, in the same letter, we read the farther
+passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell her that I fear that I shall
+become great without a monument, to which she has contributed,” we can
+understand how love, fame and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for
+new and mighty exploits in art.
+
+The next work published by Beethoven was the Mass in C, op. 86,
+which Esterhazy gave him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
+even more than in opera, missed the spirit of his subject. The Mass
+bears witness to his intellect, and has all the charms of sound; but
+it is not a religious composition. When Beethoven himself wrote to
+Esterhazy, as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that it is not
+without many misgivings that I shall send you the Mass, for I know
+you are accustomed to have the inimitable works of the great Haydn
+performed for you,” he proves that he did not understand the real
+spirit of church music; for Haydn had, just as little as Beethoven,
+a true conception of what church music is. Haydn was now seventy-six
+years old, and Beethoven attended a performance of his _Creation_ the
+following year, and, with a number of the distinguished nobility,
+received the celebrated guest at the door. The fame of the man whom
+he was thus called upon to honor, was a type of what his own was
+destined one day to be. And what his own fame would be, the production
+of the great works he had recently finished, must have enabled him
+to foresee. When the Mass was performed, in September, 1807, in
+Eisenstadt, our composer had a personal falling out--the result of a
+misunderstanding--with Mozart’s pupil, Hummel; and one which was not
+made up for for some years. The prince had criticised Beethoven’s Mass
+by asking the strange question: “But, my dear Beethoven, what have you
+been doing now?” Hummel could not help laughing at this strange mode of
+criticism. Beethoven supposed he was laughing at his work; and after
+this would have nothing more to do with the prince.
+
+It was otherwise with the magnanimous, noble lover of art, Prince
+Lobkowitz, one of the principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
+principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven was indebted for
+the suggestion that the _Fidelio_ should be performed in Prague. For
+the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year, 1807, the overture, op.
+138, which is, therefore, to be accounted not the second, but the third
+_Leonore_ overture. The performance of the _Fidelio_, however, did
+not take place until 1814, the same year in which it was performed in
+Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it was publicly announced that
+“the gifted Beethoven had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s Faust to
+music, as soon as he could find any one to prepare it for the stage.”
+The first part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a “tragedy;” and,
+as we shall see, the poem made a deep impression on our artist. Long
+after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied his thoughts. But he had,
+even now, written some Faust music--the symphony in C minor. To it we
+now turn, for it is one of the greatest of Beethoven’s creations.
+
+We have seen how Beethoven himself once said: “Power is the moral code
+of men who distinguish themselves above others.” And so we hear how
+one person described him as “power personified;” how another said of
+him that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through his eyes:” and
+a third, that “his magnificent forehead was the seat of majestic,
+creative power.” Spurred on by the opposition of “fate,” that is,
+by what nature had denied him, we see this power appear in all its
+concentration and sublimity. The power which has created, and which
+preserves all things, has been called “will,” and music, one of its
+immediate phenomena, while the other arts are only reflections of that
+will, and reflect only the things of the world. In the first movement
+of the symphony in C minor, we feel the presence of this power or
+personal will, to an extent greater than in any other work of art. It
+there appears in fullest action, in all its nobility. The symphony
+might not inappropriately have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
+for it is a veritable head of Jove, such as only a Phidias could
+have imagined. Melody has been described as the history of the will
+illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form of the symphony is just such
+kind of melody. And it is this fifth symphony of Beethoven’s, which,
+more than any other, tells us the most secret history of that personal
+will, of all its strivings and motions. No type in any art, could have
+suggested a Siegfried to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius acts
+as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence of the prototype
+of the Great Spirit. Yet when the work was performed in Paris, Hector
+Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say of it--and this, although he
+was deeply moved by it--“but such music should not be heard.” “Don’t
+be afraid,” was the reply, “there will be little of that kind of
+music written.” How correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
+Siegfried’s _Rheinfahrt_, in the _Goetterdaemmerung_, is music of “that
+kind.”
+
+But it is only the night of sorrow that gives birth to the
+concentration of power. It is only by great effort that this energy
+can be maintained. And as Coriolanus finely presses all the darts
+aimed at him by his mother into her own heart, in defying sacrifice,
+so we find, in the background of this holiest and most manly will, the
+consciousness of the variety and transitory character of all things.
+In his heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has knocked at his
+door, only because in his following the dictates of force and action,
+he has sinned against nature, and that all will is only transitoriness
+and self-deception. The _adagio_ expresses subjection to a higher will.
+The consciousness of this highest act of the will, to sacrifice one’s
+self and yet to preserve one’s freedom, gave birth to the song of
+jubilation in the _finale_ which tells not of the joy and sorrow of one
+heart only; it lifts the freedom which has been praised and sought for
+into the higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony in C minor has
+a significance greater than any mere “work of art.” Like the production
+of religious art, it is a representation of those secret forces which
+hold the world together.
+
+The consciousness of this deeper, intimate dependence of all things on
+one another, is henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the darkness
+which gathered around him, and it continues to beautify and transfigure
+his creations.
+
+The _Pastorale_ immediately followed the symphony in C minor. It
+gives expression to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
+the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature and calm your soul
+by the contemplation of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
+compared with the fifth, is a symphony and nothing more--even if
+it be Beethoven’s--we plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
+spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and character it illustrates
+constitutes in Beethoven’s life the transition from the external beauty
+of nature to the comprehension of the eternal. Over it is written:
+“Recollections of country life,” but also, “More an expression of
+feeling than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved the Rhine,” the young
+playmates of the boy Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself to
+Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful region in which I first saw the
+light as plainly and as beautiful as the moment I left you.” On a
+leaf, written in his own hand, we find the words: “O the charm of the
+woods--who can express it?” But now that he was compelled to live a
+solitary life, nature became to him a mother, sister and sweetheart.
+He looked upon the wonders of nature as into living eyes; she calmed
+him who was naturally of such a stormy temperament, and to whom life
+had been unkind in so many ways. In the _Scene am Bach_ (Scene by the
+Brook), the waters murmur peace to his soul; and the birds by the
+brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where these two symphonies were finished,
+whisper joy. His _Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute_, infuses new
+courage into the heart, and when his _Gewitter und Sturm_, tells of the
+might of the Eternal, the shepherds express their joyful and grateful
+feelings in the words: _Herr wir danken dir_. The _finale_, like the
+_Chorphantasie_ (op. 80), planned in 1800 but not finished until 1808,
+was intended to contain a chorus expressing in words the joyful and
+thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s own personal experience
+is always expressed in his music. A more intimate acquaintance with
+nature gave it to him to find yet deeper expression for the feelings
+which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting change enabled him
+to conceive the eternal and imperishable.
+
+We now turn to a whole series of new and brilliant creations of our
+hero. It would seem as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
+had given him new life.
+
+During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy with the Malfattis and their
+two charming daughters, was a great source of pleasure to him. His
+feelings towards them may be inferred from the following passages in
+his notes to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I feel so well when
+I am with them that they seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
+have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect to find there in the _Wilden
+Mann_ in the park, no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And again: “My
+greetings, to all who are dear to you and to me. How gladly would I
+add--and to whom we are dear???? These points of interrogation are
+becoming, at least in me.” Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
+Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed Theresa, who made her
+debut in society about this time, and whom he writes of as “volatile,
+taking everything in life lightly” but “with so much feeling for all
+that is beautiful and good, and a great talent for music,” he sends
+a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s
+translation of Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse with the
+family had that intellectual foundation which Beethoven could not
+dispense with, on anything. It would even seem as if, in his enthusiasm
+to put his strength to the test of new deeds, even his “eternal loved
+one” should fade from his view.
+
+The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his friend Gleichenstein
+immediately followed the _Pastorale_. The two magnificent trios
+dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he resided at this time,
+follow as op. 70. The first movement of the trio in D major is a
+brilliantly free play of mind and force, while the _adagio_ suggests
+Faust lost in the deep contemplation of nature and its mysteries. The
+whole, on account of the mysterious awe expressed by this movement has
+been called by musicians the _Fledermaustrio_, i. e., the bat-trio.
+The _Leonore_ is numbered op. 72. It was published in 1810. Op. 73,
+the most beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the Archduke
+Rudolph. We have further, op. 74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op. 77, to his friend
+Brunswick; lastly, the sonata in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly
+valued by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister Theresa. Verily
+“new acts” enough, and what glorious deeds!
+
+This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed a change for the
+better in Beethoven’s pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
+permanent salary. On the 1st of November, 1808, he wrote to the
+Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,--whom he had visited in the fall of 1806,
+in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave him a commission to write
+a symphony, which the count, however, never received--as follows:
+“My circumstances are improving without the assistance of people who
+entertain their friends with blows. I have also been called to act as
+_capellmeister_ to the King of Westphalia, and perhaps I may obey the
+call.” The following December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the
+programme of which embraced the two new symphonies, parts of his Mass,
+the concerto in G minor, and the _Chorphantasie_. He himself improvised
+at the piano. The attention of people far and near was called anew
+to this great and grave master in music, whom the sensualist Jerome
+Bonaparte endeavored to attract to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
+anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s friends bestirred
+themselves to keep him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to stay.
+This is very evident from the letters to Gleichenstein and Erdoedy.
+Three friends of his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote one of
+his greatest works, were instrumental in keeping him in Vienna. They
+were the Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Kinsky, to whose
+wife the six songs, op. 75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed amounted
+to eight thousand marks. “You see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he
+writes, on the 18th of March, 1809, _a propos_ of the “decree” which he
+had received on the 26th of February, from the hands of the archduke,
+and which imposed on him no duty but to remain in Vienna and Austria,
+“how honorable to me my stay here has become.” He could not, however,
+have meant seriously what he added immediately after: “The title of
+imperial _capellmeister_ will come to me also;” for what use had a
+man like the Emperor Franz for such an “innovator” at his court? The
+dedications of his works mentioned above were simply testimonials of
+gratitude for the friendship thus shown him.
+
+He now planned an extensive journey, which was to embrace England,
+and even Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now you can help me get
+a wife. If you find a pretty one--one who may perhaps lend a sigh to
+my harmonies, do the courting for me. But she must be beautiful; I
+cannot love anything that is not beautiful; if I could I should fall
+in love with myself.” The coming war interrupted all his plans. But,
+at the same time, it suggested to the imagination of our artist, that
+wonderful picture of the battle of forces, the seventh (A major)
+symphony (op. 92), which Richard Wagner has called the “apotheosis
+of the dance.” Germany now first saw the picture of a genuinely
+national war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary foe, and
+the whole people, from the highest noble to the meanest peasant rose
+up, as one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The march is, after
+all, only the dance of war, and Beethoven gathered into one picture
+of instrumentation, the glad tramp of warlike hosts, the rhythm of
+trampling steeds, the waving of standards and the sound of trumpets,
+with a luminousness such as the world had never witnessed before. The
+poet needs only see the eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the
+vapor and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven, this joy in the
+game of war was, as the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
+a stimulant to his imagination, which now painted a picture of the
+free play of force and of human existence from the material of recent
+historical events. And even in after years the timeliness of this work
+and the spirit which called it into existence were evident. And, as
+we shall soon see, it constituted the principal part in the musical
+celebration, when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation occurred and
+led to a most decided victory. Personally, Beethoven felt himself
+not inferior to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and, like
+Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening of the national genius which
+overthrew Napoleon. To this second-sight of the prophet, possessed by
+every genuine poet--to this sure presentiment of ultimate triumph--our
+artist owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s greatest ignominy
+and subjection he sang of the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
+jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the Austrians again. But as
+Beethoven first felt the weight and the power of resistance of Germany
+after the battles of Aspern and Wagram, he now depicted (after Napoleon
+had taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and seemed predestined to
+become the despot of all Europe), in the _scherzo_ and _finale_ of
+the seventh symphony, better than ever before, the jubilation of the
+victorious nation, with all its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
+melancholy second part, with its monotonous beats on the _dominante_,
+we think we hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march. This exceedingly
+characteristic theme is found at the very beginning of a sketch-book of
+the year 1809.
+
+Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition in Vienna and all
+Austria. The burthen of taxation was severely felt. Everything was at
+a standstill. When his beloved pupil, the Archduke Rudolph retreated
+from Vienna he wrote the _Lebewohl_ of the sonata op. 81^a; but its
+_finale_ (_die Ankunft_) was not written until the 30th of January,
+1810. The summer was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there was no demand
+for the exercise of his genius. Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger,
+Fux and Albrechtsberger he prepared the _Materiellen zum Generalbass_
+(materials for thorough-bass) for his noble pupil. This work was
+subsequently but wrongly published under the name of _Beethoven’s
+Studien_. On the 8th of September, a charity concert was given at
+which--to the disgrace of the period, be it said, for Napoleon had only
+just left Schoenbrunn--the _Eroica_ was performed, Beethoven himself
+holding the baton. The rest of the summer he hoped to spend in some
+quiet corner in the country. He sojourned sometime with the Brunswicks
+in Hungary, and composed those works of his genius, op. 77 and 78. His
+genius, indeed, seems to have awakened to a new life during this fall
+of 1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh symphony (op. 92) contains
+sketches of the 8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated giving
+another concert at Christmas, at which, of course, only new works
+could be performed. These sketches are followed by drafts for a new
+concerto. On these drafts we find the words: _Polonaise fuer Clavier
+allein_, also _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--“finish the overture”
+and “detached periods like princes are beggars, not the whole.” He
+here takes up once more those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
+conception of their meaning. They constitute the intellectual germ of
+the _finale_ of the ninth symphony. But the melody which he actually
+noted down was elaborated in 1814 into the overture op. 115 (_Zur
+Namensfeier_).
+
+During this period of Germany’s national awakening, the theaters had
+again turned their attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of this
+was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas. He now desired to give _Tell_
+a musical dress. He had already received a commission of this kind
+for the _Egmont_, and, on the occasion of his receiving it, he gave
+expression to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny: “Schiller’s
+poems are exceedingly difficult to set to music. The composer must
+be able to rise high above the poet. But who can rise higher than
+Schiller? Goethe is much easier.” And, indeed, his _Egmont_ overture
+breathes a higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than Goethe’s
+beautiful tragedy. The composition of this music led to his more
+intimate acquaintance with the poet. To this same year, 1810, belong
+the incomparable songs _Kennst du das Land_, and _Herz mein Herz_, in
+op. 75.
+
+This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat mysterious point in
+Beethoven’s life, to his _Heirathspartie_ (marriage speculation).
+
+In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall: “Do you recollect the
+condition I am in--the condition of Hercules before Queen Omphale?
+Farewell, and never again speak of me as the great man, for I never
+felt either the weakness or the strength of human nature as I do now.”
+But writing to Wegeler on the second of May, he says: “For a couple of
+years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful life. I was carried by
+force into the world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps one of the
+very happiest of men, were it not that the demon has taken up his abode
+in my ears. Had I not read somewhere that man should not voluntarily
+take leave of life while he is still able to do one good deed, I should
+long have departed hence, and by my own act. Life is very beautiful,
+but, in my case, it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the certificate
+of his baptism, and this in a manner so urgent that it creates
+surprise. It was three months before the answer to the enigma was
+found, and Breuning wrote that he believed that Beethoven’s engagement
+was broken off. But it continues a mystery, even to this day, who his
+choice was. It has been surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
+or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing certain on this point. True,
+he had now acquired both fame and a position which raised him above all
+fear of want. But she was thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
+In addition to this, there was, on his side, a relationship of the
+nature of which we shall yet have something to say. Her passion, if
+such there was on her part, must have been prudently concealed; and it
+is certainly remarkable that, from this time forward, her name is not
+mentioned by Beethoven. However, her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
+who is still living, expressly writes: “I never heard of any intimate
+relation nor of any love between them, while Beethoven’s profound love
+for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi, was a matter of frequent
+mention.” But Giulietta had at this time long been Countess Gallenberg.
+The solution of this mystery, accordingly, belongs to the future.
+
+On the other hand, we have a few notes to Gleichenstein, who married
+the younger Malfatti, the following year. In one of them we read: “You
+live on still, calm waters--in a safe harbor. You do not feel or should
+not feel the distress of the friend who is caught in the storm. What
+will people think of me in the planet Venus Urania? How can one judge
+of me who has never seen me? My pride is so humbled, that even without
+being ordered to do so, I would travel thither with thee.” And, in the
+other: “The news I received from you cast me down again out of the
+regions of happiness. What is the use of saying that you would send
+me word when there was to be music again? Am I nothing more than a
+musician to you and to others? Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find a
+resting-place. Externally, to myself there is none. No, friendship and
+feelings like it have only pain for me. Be it so, then. Poor Beethoven,
+there is no external happiness for you. You must create your own
+happiness. Only in the ideal world do you find friends.” The sketch of
+that and Klaerchen’s song _Freudvoll und leidvoll_ were found in the
+possession of Theresa Malfatti. When Gleichenstein was engaged, the
+feelings of the man who had been so bitterly deceived overflowed. But
+how could the young girl of eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
+would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died unmarried. Theresa Malfatti
+married, in 1817, one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
+intercourse with the family continued.
+
+We next hear of his acquaintance with Bettina Brentano which led to his
+meeting Goethe in person.
+
+Her brother Francis had married a Miss Birkenstock, of Vienna.
+Beethoven had been long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
+family. Bettina Brentano herself was betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and
+her deep love of music had inspired her with a genuine affection for
+Beethoven. One beautiful day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
+of heart, went, in company with her married sister, Mrs. Savigny, to
+Beethoven and met with the very best reception. He sang for her _Kennst
+du das Land_, with a sharp and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
+“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are touched by something good. But
+such men have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery and do not
+weep.” He escorted her home to Brentano’s, and after this they met
+every day.
+
+Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account of the impression made on
+her by Beethoven’s appearance and conversation. Her charming letters
+are to be found in the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. They show how exalted
+an idea Beethoven had of his own high calling. She writes: “He feels
+himself to be the founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
+life of man. He begets the undreamt-of and the uncreated. What can such
+a man have to do with the world? Sunrise finds him at his blessed
+day’s work, and at sunset he is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
+even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor or King is as conscious of
+his power and of the fact that all power proceeds from him, as is this
+man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who “loved to contemplate and fix in memory
+the picture of real genius,” who well knew “that his intellect was
+even greater than his genius, and who frequently throws from himself a
+luminousness like that of lightning, so that we can scarcely tell, as
+we sit in the darkness, from what side the day may break,” invited him
+to Carlsbad, whither he was wont to go every year.
+
+The two remarkable letters to Bettina of the 11th of August, 1810,
+and the 10th of February, 1811, the autographs of which have since
+been found, show us how deeply the heart of our artist was stirred
+by love at this time. They are to be found in “Beethoven Letters.” A
+work of his composed about this time, the _Quartetto serioso_, op.
+95, of October, 1810, throws some light on this love, and yet it
+rises far above the pain and the sorrow of the situation in which
+he found himself. Heavy thunders announce Vulcan at work; but in the
+_finale_, how Beethoven’s giant mind frees itself from itself! The
+noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates from the spring of 1811,
+and, especially in the _adagio_, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
+bliss. But the fact that in this period no other compositions were
+written would go to show the influence of bitter experience. It may
+be, however, that the commission he received for the plays “The Ruins
+of Athens” and “King Stephen,” took up the best portion of his time;
+and, besides, the two symphonies had to be finished. The song _An die
+Geliebte_ also belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
+draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish sonata for the violin
+which was finished in 1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
+celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.
+
+Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up the summer of 1811, but
+they were not put upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At the same
+time, an opera was wanted for Vienna. It was the “Ruins of Babylon.”
+He also received an invitation to Naples, where Count Gallenberg
+was director of the theater. We next find him traveling to Teplitz,
+a bathing place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance with
+Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
+maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was stopping with Elise.
+Amalie had a charming voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
+endowments as for her beauty of physique. Beethoven, spite of his many
+disappointments, was greatly taken with her. Her picture is before
+us. Her eye betokens intellect and nobility of soul, and her mouth
+extreme loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to Tiedge: “Press
+the Countess’s hand for me very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
+Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is looking.” He did not see
+Goethe on this occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following year,
+when his meeting--of which so much has been said and written--“with
+the most precious jewel of the German nation,” as he called Goethe,
+when writing to Bettina, occurred. We can here give only the principal
+incidents of that event.
+
+The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter, the Empress of France,
+the King of Saxony, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great many Princes
+were there. The company already in the place was joined by Goethe, the
+jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von Arnim, together with his
+charming wife, Bettina. Beethoven himself writes on the 12th of August,
+1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:
+
+  “I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And the poet, writing
+  to Zelter, passes the following judgment on Beethoven: “I became
+  acquainted with Beethoven in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
+  me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed character. He is
+  not, indeed, wrong in finding the world detestable. Still, his
+  finding it detestable does not make it any more enjoyable either to
+  himself or to others. But he is very excusable and much to be pitied.
+  His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature laconic, and this defect
+  is making him doubly so.”
+
+The remarkable incident related in the third letter to Bettina, a
+letter which has been widely read and the authenticity of which
+has been much contested--for the original does not seem to be
+extant--Bettina herself describes in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau.
+Goethe, she says, who had received many marks of attention from the
+Princes present, was desirous of testifying his special devotion to
+the Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions” signified to
+Beethoven that he should do the same. But Beethoven replied: “What! You
+must not do so. You must let them clearly understand what they possess
+in you; for if you do not, they will never find it out. I have taken
+quite a different course.” And then he told how his Archduke once sent
+him word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he went away. Princes
+might indeed, he said, decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
+make a man a court counsellor, but they could never make a Goethe or a
+Beethoven. To such men they owed respect. The whole court now came in.
+Beethoven said to Goethe: “Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
+But Goethe left him and stood aside with his hat in his hand, while
+Beethoven, with folded arms, went through the midst of them and only
+touched his hat. The court party separated to make place for him, and
+they had all a friendly greeting for our artist. He stood and waited
+at the other end for Goethe, who bowed profoundly as the court party
+passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have waited for you, because I
+honor and respect you, as you deserve, but you have done them too much
+honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven ran to them, and told them all that
+had happened.
+
+That his behavior, on this occasion, was not by any means dictated
+by any over-estimation of himself, but by a deep human feeling of
+equality--an equality which the artist finds it harder than any one
+else to assert and acquire--the whole course of Beethoven’s life, as
+well as his intercourse with people at this bathing place at Teplitz,
+proves. He there found Miss Sebald again. A series of very tender
+notes written to her tells us of his heartfelt and good understanding
+with this refined and clever North German lady, who made greater
+allowances for his natural disposition than were wont to be made. He
+writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure, I shall never possess.”
+His admission that, for five years--that is from 1811,--he had known
+a lady to be united to whom he would have esteemed it the greatest
+happiness he could have on earth, was made in this same year. But, he
+added, that was a happiness not to be thought of; union with her was
+an impossibility, a chimera! And yet he closed with the words: “It is
+still as it was the first day I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought
+of her from my mind.” He did not know that Amalie Sebald had been the
+wife of a councillor of justice named Krause. Again did he give vent to
+his feeling in the songs _An die ferne Geliebte_--“to the distant loved
+one”--which bear the date; “in the month of April, 1816.”
+
+This was the last time that Beethoven seriously concerned himself
+about marriage. Fate would indeed have it that he should soon become a
+“father,” but without a wife. Yet no matter what the personal wishes
+of our artist through the rest of his life may have been, or what the
+wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed on a lofty goal; and it was
+in the ideal world that he found his real friends. He finished the
+seventh symphony, and after it the eighth, in this fall of 1812. The
+coquettish _allegretto scherzando_ of the latter was suggested by
+the Maelzl metronome invented a short time before, and the strange
+minuet with its proud step is a hit at the high court society whom
+Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times of the old regime, when
+the principle _l’état c’est moi_ obtained in society, were passed.
+These works are clearly expressive of the free and progressive spirit
+of a new and better age. It was the seventh symphony especially that,
+in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven himself the hearts of that
+age. This symphony helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
+by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven now entered a new stage of
+development, and rose to his full height as an artist and a man. Other
+works composed by Beethoven during this period are the following: 82
+variations (1806-7); _In questa tomba_ (1807); _sonatine_ (op. 79);
+variations op. 76 and _Lied aus der Ferne_ (composed 1809); _die laute
+Klage_ (probably 1809); Sextett op. 8^b. _Andenken_, _Sehnsucht_ by
+Goethe; _der Liebende_, _der Juengling in der Fremde_ (appeared in
+1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed in 1810); Scotch songs
+(commenced in 1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811); trio in
+one movement and three _equale_ for four trombones, (composed in 1812)
+the latter of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s burial.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+1813-1823.
+
+THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
+
+  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
+    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Beethoven’s Own Estimate of
+    It--Wellington’s Victory--Strange Conduct--Intellectual
+    Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The Fidelio Before the
+    Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object of Universal
+    Attention--Presents from Kings--Works Written in 1814 and
+    1815--The Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--His Nephew--Romulus
+    and the Oratorio--His “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Commission
+    from London--Opinion of the English People--His Songs--His Missa
+    Solemnis--His Own Opinion of It--Its
+    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony.
+
+
+“Resignation, the most absolute and heartfelt resignation to thy fate!
+Thou shouldst not live for thyself, but only for others. Henceforth
+there is no happiness for thee, but in thy art. O God, grant me
+strength to conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me to life.” With
+this cry of the heart, taken _verbatim_ from his diary of 1812,
+Beethoven consecrated himself to the noble task which after this he
+never lost sight of--of writing “for the honor of the Almighty, the
+Eternal, the Infinite.”
+
+The national bankruptcy of Austria did not leave Beethoven unaffected.
+It compelled him, besides, to come to the assistance of his sick
+brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore, that he felt called upon
+to undertake, in order to provide himself with the mere means of
+subsistence, was the public representation of his new compositions.
+It was not long before an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
+an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations to the dignity of one
+of the motive powers of the national life of the period. The star of
+Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the gigantic struggle begun
+to bring about the overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted the
+sympathy and active participation of our artist.
+
+“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain as I am! O, what a
+difference between the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
+often! O, horrible circumstances which do not suppress my desire to
+be thrifty, but which keep one from being so. O, God! O, God! look
+down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let this last no longer as it is.” Thus
+did he write in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher, interested
+herself in him in his pecuniary embarrassment, which was so great
+that at one time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots to leave
+the house in. He writes: “I do not deserve to be in the condition I
+am--the most unfortunate of my life.” The payments due him from Kinsky
+did not come, because of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s love of
+music and the theater had greatly embarrassed him financially. Even
+the giving of a concert which he contemplated had to be abandoned in
+consequence of the bad times.
+
+The idea of a journey to London now took possession of him all the
+more strongly because of the straits to which he was reduced. This
+journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking” referred to above. It
+is deserving of special mention here, because to it we are indebted for
+the ninth symphony.
+
+Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had built a panharmonicum, and
+was anxious to make the journey to London in company with Beethoven.
+He had had the burning of Moscow set for his instrument; and he
+now wanted a musical representation of the next great event of the
+time--Wellington’s victory at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to
+Beethoven. Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and love of England induced
+him to adopt it, and this was the origin of the _Schlachtsymphonie_
+(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance with Maelzl’s proposition,
+he elaborated what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
+instrumental composition. It was performed before a large audience “for
+the benefit of the warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
+And--, irony of fate!--a work which Beethoven himself declared to be a
+“piece of stupidity,” took the Viennese by storm, and at a bound, made
+him very popular in Vienna.
+
+It was performed on the 12th of December, 1813. The applause was
+unbounded. All the best artists of the city were with him. Salieri,
+Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh, Mayseder, and even strangers like
+Meyerbeer, assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the ideal foundation
+of the entire production, for that symphony was the expression of the
+awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation. Anton Schindler, of whom
+we have already spoken more than once, and of whom we shall have more
+to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s companion, writes: “All hitherto
+dissenting voices, with the exception of a few professors of music,
+finally agreed that he was worthy of the laurel crown.” He rightly
+calls the production of this piece one of the most important events in
+Beethoven’s life; for now the portals of the temple of fame were opened
+wide to receive him; and if he had had nothing “nobler or better” than
+this to do in life, he certainly would never again feel the want of the
+good things of this world.
+
+His next concern was to turn the occasion of the moment to advantage,
+to give some concerts with _Wellington’s Victory_, and thus obtain
+leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins of Athens” also were played
+at these concerts. The success of one aria in particular from that
+composition suggested to one of the singers of the court-opera the
+idea of reviving the _Fidelio_. It then received the form in which
+we have it to-day. And what a hold the character of Leonore still
+had on our artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the dramatic
+poet, Treitschke, who again tried to abridge the text. He had given
+expression to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
+dungeon, in the words:
+
+  “Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?
+    Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?
+  Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft
+    Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,
+  Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,
+  Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”
+
+“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will never fade from my memory.
+Beethoven came to me in the evening. He read, ran up and down the
+room, murmured, growled, as he usually did instead of singing, and
+tore open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently begged him in vain to
+play. To-day he placed the text before him and began playing wonderful
+melodies, which unfortunately no charm could preserve. The hour passed.
+Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation. Supper was served but
+he would allow no one to disturb him. It grew quite late. He then put
+his arms about me and hurried home. A few days after the piece was
+finished.”
+
+At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My kingdom is in the air. My
+soul trills as the winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short I assure
+you, the opera will win the crown of martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s
+sorrows and victory found expression a second time; for now the
+so-called _Fidelio_ overture (E major) was composed. At its performance
+on the 23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the very first act,
+enthusiastically called for and enthusiastically greeted. The applause
+increased with every succeeding performance.
+
+Beethoven was now one of the best known characters in Vienna. He
+had, even before this, given several concerts of his own, and at
+several others music composed by him had been performed. His picture
+by Letronne appeared at this time. “It is as natural as life,” said
+Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the 26th of September, received with his
+music of the _Fidelio_, the assemblage of monarchs who had come to
+attend the Congress of Vienna; and what was more natural than that
+he should now greet them with something new in the nature of festal
+music? He did this with the cantata, _der Glorreiche Augenblick_
+(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production of it took place
+in the ever memorable Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814, when
+Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,” and what was more, before
+the educated of Europe, by the mere assistance of his art, helped
+celebrate the solemn moment which did away with oppression and tyranny
+and marked the beginning of a new and happier period. His audience
+was numbered by thousands, and “the respectful absence of all loud
+signs of applause gave the whole the character of worship. Every one
+seemed to feel that never again would there be such a moment in his
+life.” This extract is from Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places
+“the ecstasy of all present found expression in the loudest applause,
+applause which drowned the powerful accompaniment of the composer.” The
+_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony) as well as the seventh symphony,
+contributed to the achievement of this victory. After it was over, he
+wrote to the archduke: “I am still exhausted by fatigue, vexation,
+pleasure and joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering impression
+made on him by those days, we must refer to his diary of the following
+spring, when all that he had then experienced took a definite form in
+his feelings and consciousness. He then writes:
+
+  “May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May it be a sanctuary
+  of art.... Let me live, even if I have to have recourse to
+  ‘assistance,’ and such means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be
+  perfected if possible, and then travel! This you owe to man and the
+  Almighty. Only thus can you develop what is locked up within you.
+  The court of a prince, a little orchestra to write music for, and to
+  produce it, for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
+  Thus may my last years pass away, and to future humanity....”
+
+He breaks off here as if he did not need to express an opinion on what
+he aimed at achieving and left after him as an inheritance. But the
+reputation which he had acquired is correctly described as “one of
+the greatest ever won by a musician.” And now, more than ever before,
+he was the object of universal attention, especially at the brilliant
+entertainments given by the Russian ambassador, count Rasumowsky, to
+the monarchs present, on one of which occasions he was presented to
+them. The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a special “compliment.”
+She did so at the palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
+celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher. At a court concert on
+the 25th of January, 1815, he accompanied the _Adelaide_ for Florestan
+Wild himself; and Schindler closes his account of it with the words:
+“The great master recalled those days with much feeling, and with a
+certain pride once said that he had made the great pay their court to
+him, and that with them he had always preserved his dignity.” He thus
+verified what, as we saw alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
+them clearly understand what they possess in you.”
+
+The “assistance” he longed for came in the form of presents from
+monarchs, especially of the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of Russia,
+for whom he, at that time, wrote the polonaise, op. 89. These presents
+enabled him to make a permanent investment of twenty thousand marks,
+which his friends were very much surprised to find he owned, after
+his death. But, although by “decree” he drew yearly the sum of 2,700
+marks, his principal source of income continued to be derived from his
+intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved brother Karl died and left
+him, as an inheritance, so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
+after his father--the mother not being a fit person to take care of the
+child, and, besides, not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
+struggles for his “son,” _the unfortunate nephew_, with the mother,
+whom he was wont to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
+succeeding years of his life with legal controversies and negotiations
+to such an extent that they seem to have hindered him in his work.
+Extreme trouble of mind, brought about by the social and political
+degeneration of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon entirely
+obscured the lustre of the days we have just described; and it was
+only for short moments of time, as on the occasion of the celebrated
+concert of the year 1824, that we see his old pride and fame revive.
+The works performed at that concert were the _Missa Solemnis_ and the
+Ninth Symphony. The former was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
+Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a reflection of the soul of the
+artist himself as we have heard him describe it above. The symphony
+was written “for London;” whither in these saddening times his eyes
+were directed, and which, although he never undertook the contemplated
+journey thither, became the incentive to the composition of many
+important works.
+
+Among the works which date from 1814 and 1815, we may mention the
+sonata, op. 90, a “struggle between the head and the heart,” addressed
+in the summer of 1814 to Count Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his
+marriage to a Vienna singer; the song _Merkenstein_ (op. 100), composed
+in the winter of 1814; Tiedge’s _Hoffnung_ (op. 94), composed after
+the last court concert for the singer Wild; the chorus _Meeresstille
+und Glueckliche Fahrt_ (op. 112), which was written in 1815, and in
+1822, “most respectfully dedicated to the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the
+magnificent cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, who
+became reconciled with him once more during this winter, after there
+had been a variance between them for a time. He calls the first of
+these sonatas the “free sonata,” and, indeed, freedom now became the
+characteristic of his higher artistic pictures. The _adagio_ of the
+second discloses to us, in the choral-like construction of its theme,
+the prevailing religious direction taken by his thoughts, which is also
+apparent in very many expressions and quotations to be found in his
+diary.
+
+We have already mentioned the _Liederkreis_, op. 98. Beethoven worked
+at it and at the sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter, an
+expression of the deepest poetry of the soul, was ready the following
+year, and was dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear Dorothea
+Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly understood the meaning of
+Beethoven’s music, became a real propagandist of his compositions for
+the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn could say that he had “learned much”
+from her deeply expressive execution. The noble lady had lost her only
+son during the absence of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
+and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition of mind bordering on
+melancholy, by coming to her and playing for her until she burst into
+tears. “The spell was broken.” “We finite creatures with an infinite
+mind are born only for suffering and for joy; and we might almost say
+that the best of human kind obtain joy only through their sorrow.”
+Thus spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and this little incident
+confirms its truth. His own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
+musical creations, and these creations were to him “the dearest gift of
+heaven,” and, as it were, a consolation from on high.
+
+But to continue our biography.
+
+When, after a violent contest with the mother, he was made sole
+guardian of his nephew, and could then call him his own, he seems, as a
+lady whose diary is embodied in the little book _Eine stille Liebe zu
+Beethoven_, informs us, to gain new life. He devoted himself heart and
+soul to the boy, and he wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
+care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow. We can readily understand
+how it came to pass that he now penned the words found by the lady
+just mentioned, in a memorandum book of his: “My heart overflows at
+the aspect of the beauties of nature--and this without her.” His
+“distant loved one” was still to him the most valued possession of his
+life--more to him, even, than himself.
+
+He had now in view several great projects--among them an opera,
+_Romulus_, by Treitschke, and an oratorio for the recently founded
+“Society of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna. The latter failed,
+through the niggardliness of the directors, and the former was not
+finished, although our artist never gave up the intention of completing
+it. In the autumn of 1816, an English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
+write a symphony, for two hundred ducats. But as the general wanted it
+written in the style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself refused to
+accept the commission. Yet this narrow English enthusiast had excited
+Beethoven’s imagination with glowing accounts of the harvest of profit
+he might reap in England, and as Beethoven had recently sold many
+of his works there, and as, besides, the new “Philharmonic Society”
+had handsomely remunerated him for these overtures, his intention
+of crossing the Channel began to assume a more definite form. His
+_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony), especially, had already met
+with a very flattering reception in England. And a project was on foot
+in that country, even now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
+of his own works; and such a “benefit” was actually given for him
+there when he was on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it would
+flatter him to be able to write some new works, such as symphonies and
+an oratorio, for the Society which embraced a greater number of able
+musicians than almost any other in Europe.
+
+His diary covering this period to 1818, published in the work _Die
+Beethovenfeier und die deutsche Kunst_, because of the many items of
+interest it has in it, contains these characteristic lines: “Drop
+operas and everything else. Write only in your own style.” But even
+the sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark accompanying them:
+“2. Symphony in D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony in D
+minor--3. Symphony.” Belonging to the years succeeding 1812, we find
+drafts of the _scherzo_ of the Ninth Symphony. The headings above given
+undoubtedly had reference to this last, but the sketches of the first
+movement, decisive of the character of such a work, are not to be found
+until the year 1816, but then they are found with the physiognomy so
+masculine and so full of character which distinguishes this “symphony
+for London.” He once said of Englishmen that they were, for the most
+part, “clever fellows;” and he--of whom Zelter wrote to Goethe, that
+“he must have had a man for his mother”--felt that, in England, he,
+as a man, had to do with men, and, as an artist, to enter the list
+with Handel, whose own powerful influence was due to his decided
+manfulness of character. And then, had not England produced a tragic
+poet like Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all others? Deep,
+tragic earnestness, and a masculine struggle with fate, are here the
+fundamental tone and design of the whole. “And then a cowl when thou
+closest thy unhappy life”--such is the conclusion of the lines quoted
+above, in which he says that he must write “only in his own style.”
+
+And now, in July, 1817, came from London the “direct commission” he had
+so long endeavored to obtain. The Society desired to send him a proof
+of their esteem and gratitude for the many happy moments his works had
+given them to enjoy, and invited him to come to London to write two
+great symphonies, promising him an honorarium of three hundred pounds
+sterling. Beethoven immediately accepted the commission, and assured
+them that he would do his very best to execute it--honorable as it was
+to him, and coming as it did from so select a society of artists--in
+the worthiest manner possible. He promised to go to work immediately.
+“He believed that he could nowhere receive the distinction which his
+gigantic genius--in advance of his age by several centuries--deserved,
+as he could in Great Britain. The respect shown him by the English
+people, he valued more than that of all Europe besides. The feeling he
+had of his own powers may, indeed, have contributed to make him prefer
+the English nation to all others, especially as they showered so many
+marks of distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his most intimate
+friends in Vienna, Baron Von Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain
+it is that he did his very best on this work. It, as well as the
+symphony in C minor, is of the true Beethoven type--more so, perhaps,
+than any other of his works--the full picture of his own personal
+existence and of the tragedy of human life in general. This work was
+followed by the Tenth Symphony, the “poetical idea,” at least, of
+which we know. The first movement was intended to represent a “feast of
+Bacchus,” the _adagio_ a _cantique ecclesiastique_, a church hymn, and
+the _finale_ the reconciliation of the antique world, which he esteemed
+so highly with the spirit of Christianity, into the full depth of which
+he came to have a deeper insight every day that passed. We see that he
+had lofty plans, and that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights than
+he. We must bear these great plans and labors of Beethoven in mind if
+we would rightly understand his subsequent life--if we would comprehend
+how, in the desolate and distracted existence he was compelled
+henceforth to lead, he did not become a victim of torpidity, but that,
+on the contrary, the elasticity of his genius grew greater and greater,
+and that his creations gained both in depth and perfection.
+
+Thus do we see with our own eyes at least one of his works born of his
+own life.
+
+The songs _Ruf von Berge_ and _So oder so_, were composed in the winter
+of 1816-17; and in the following spring, after the sudden death of one
+of his friends, the chorus _Rasch tritt der Tod_, from Schiller’s
+Tell. “O God, help me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind. O hard
+fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no, my unhappy condition will never
+end. Thou hast no means of salvation but to leave here. Only by so
+doing canst thou rise to the height of thy art. Here thou art immersed
+in vulgarity. Only one symphony, and then away, away, away!” Thus
+does he write in his diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
+fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great sonata for the Hammer-clavier,
+op. 106. The _adagio_ of the latter is the musical expression of
+earnest prayer to God. Its first movement shows how he had soared
+once more to the heights of his art. “The sonata was written under
+vexatious circumstances,” he says to his friend Ries; and to a younger
+fellow-artist, the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go on. There is
+no calmer, more unalloyed or purer joy than that which arises from
+ascending higher and higher into the heaven of art.” Such, too, was
+his mood in those days when he promised his friend Zmeskall the trio
+for the piano in C minor, his op. 1, worked over into the quintet op.
+104; for he wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave, without
+music, every day.” In keeping with this is the song, _Lisch aus, mein
+Licht_, “Put out my light,” which also belongs to this period. The
+supplication: “O hear me always, Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
+unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all mortals,” found in his
+diary, belongs to this same time. It is now easy to see that he was in
+a very suitable frame of mind when he resolved, in 1818, to write a
+solemn mass for the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
+pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz. It was the “little court,” the “little
+orchestra” for which he wished to write the music “for the honor of
+the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of
+making him his _capellmeister_ there. After four years’ labor, the
+_Missa Solemnis_, op. 123, was finished. Beethoven called it “_l’œuvre
+le plus accompli_, my most finished work.” And, like the _Fidelio_, it
+is deserving of this characterization, but more on account of the pains
+taken with it and the labor expended on it than of its matter.
+
+“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social life to thy art. O, God
+above all! For Providence eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
+or unhappiness of mortal men.” With these words from the Odyssey, he
+resolved to consecrate himself to this great work. And it was a resolve
+in very deed. For, as in opera, he knew that he was here bound by
+traditionary forms--forms which, indeed, in some details afforded rich
+food to his own thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered the natural
+flow of his fancy. We now approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
+which he was strangely secluded from the world. The painter, Kloeber,
+the author of the best known portrait of Beethoven, and which is to
+be found in _Beethoven’s Brevier_--it was painted during the summer
+of 1818--once saw him throw himself under a fir tree and look for a
+longtime “up into the heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
+conversations--for it was now necessary for him to have recourse to
+putting his conversations on paper more frequently on account of his
+increasing deafness--he wrote in the winter of 1819-20: “Socrates and
+Jesus were patterns to me;” and after that: “The moral law within us
+and the starry heavens above us.--Kant!!!” Just as on the 4th of March,
+1820, he wrote:
+
+  “Ernte bald an Gottes Thron
+  Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”
+
+This was the time of the struggles with the mother of his “son” and of
+the heartfelt sorrow he had to endure on account of the moral ruin of
+the poor boy himself, who, always going from the one to the other, did
+not really know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore, deceived both.
+“From the heart--may it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these words
+on the score of the mass; and Schindler, who was now his companion,
+says that “the moment he began this work his whole nature seemed to
+change.” He would sit in the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
+to order his meals, and then want to pay for them. “Some say he is
+a fool,” wrote Zelter to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us “he
+actually seemed possessed in those days, especially when he wrote the
+fugue and the _Benedictus_.” That fugue, _Et vitam senturi_ (life
+everlasting!) is the climax of the work, since the depiction of the
+imperishableness and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s
+powerful mind was most used to. The wonderful _Benedictus_, (Blessed
+is he who cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones seem to float
+down from heaven to earth, the bestowal of help from on high, was
+subsequently the model used by Wagner for his descent of the Holy
+Grail, the symbol of divine grace, in the prelude to the _Lohengrin_.
+“When I recall his state of mental excitement, I must confess that I
+never before, and never after this period of his complete forgetfulness
+of earth, observed anything like it in him.” So says Schindler. They
+had gone to visit him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired in the
+interest of his health, and where he loved so well to “wander through
+the quiet forest of firs” and think out his works. It was four o’clock
+in the afternoon. The door was closed, and they could hear him
+“singing, howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they had listened to
+this “almost horrible” scene, the door opened, and Beethoven stood
+before them, with trouble depicted on his countenance. He looked as
+if he had just gone through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
+doings here; everybody is gone, and I have not eaten a morsel since
+yesterday noon,” he said. He had worked the previous evening until
+after midnight; and so the food had grown cold and the servants left in
+disgust.
+
+His work assumed greater and greater dimensions as he himself gradually
+rose to the full height of the subject. He no longer thought of
+completing it for the installation ceremonies. It became a grand fresco
+painting--a symphony in choruses on the words of the mass. He now
+began to work more calmly, and to compose at intervals other works,
+in order to quiet his over-excited mind and to earn a living for his
+“dear” nephew. And thus, while he was composing his mass, he produced
+not only the _Variirten Themen_, op. 105 and 107, which Thompson, of
+Edinburg--who had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs like op. 108 to be
+arranged--had ordered, but also the three _Last Sonatas_, op. 109,
+dedicated to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to whose excellent
+father he was indebted for ready assistance during these years of his
+pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which was finished at Christmas,
+1821, as op. 111 was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said that
+he entertained a higher opinion himself of these sonatas than of his
+previous ones. They are greatly superior, however, only in some of
+their movements; and they are written in the grand, free style of that
+period, especially the _arietta_ in the last opus, the variations of
+which are real pictures of his own soul. In the intervals between
+them, however, we find some trifles such as the _Bagatellen_, op. 119,
+which his pecuniary condition made it imperative he should compose,
+since, “as a brave knight by his sword, he had to live by his pen.”
+And even the “_33 Veraenderungen_” (variations), op. 120, on the works
+of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the intellectual play of
+the inexhaustible fancy of an artist than the work of the genuine
+gigantic creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly possessed. He had
+overtaxed his strength working on the mass, and thus exhausted it for
+a moment. The two chorus-songs, op. 121^b and op. 122, the _Opferlied_
+and _Bundeslied_, which date from the year 1822-23, bear the stamp of
+occasional compositions, which they, in fact, are.
+
+But in the meantime the lion had roused himself again. He now only
+needed to give the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the spring of
+1823 the entire work was completed. The summer of 1822 found him fully
+engaged on the composition of that monument to his genius, the Ninth
+Symphony. Freedom from the torment of exhausting labor, and the entire
+surrender of himself to “his own style,” gave his fancy back its old
+elasticity and all its productive power. Scarcely any year of his life
+was more prolific of works than this year 1822.
+
+“Our Beethoven seems again to take a greater interest in music, which,
+since the trouble with his hearing began to increase, he avoided almost
+as a woman-hater avoids the sex. To the great pleasure of all, he
+improvised a few tunes in a most masterly manner.” Thus do we read in
+the Leipzig _Musikzeitung_, in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
+John Russell, gives us a charming description of such an evening in
+the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. Weisse’s droll poem, _Der Kuss_ (the kiss)
+op. 128, is found among the serious sketches of this year. And now he
+received a whole series of commissions. An English captain, named
+Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic
+poem worthy of his art, before he “hung up his harp forever.” Others
+asked for other kinds of music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
+Johann, “people are fighting to get works from me, happy, unhappy
+man that I am. If my health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
+my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him, too, a commission from
+Breitkopf and Haertel to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives us a
+very interesting account of Beethoven’s appearance and whole mode of
+life at this time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage exterior,
+he says, not his bushy black hair, which hung bristling about his head,
+would have stirred him; what stirred him was the whole appearance of
+the deaf man who, notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to the
+hearts of millions--pure, intellectual joy. But when he received the
+commission, he raised his hand high up and exclaimed: “That might be
+worth while. But I have been intending for some time to write three
+other great works--two great symphonies, very different from each
+other, and an oratorio. I shudder at the thought of beginning works of
+such magnitude. But once engaged on them, I shall find no difficulty.”
+He spoke of the Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun to give the
+finishing touches, in all earnestness.
+
+This was interrupted for a short time by the overture, _Zur Weihe des
+Hauses_ (op. 124), for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt theater
+with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812. It is the portal to the temple
+in which art is praised as something consecrated to the service of
+mankind--as a thing which may lift us for blissful moments into the
+region of the purifying and elevating influences of higher powers.
+Even in this work, which dates from September, 1822, we may hear the
+solemn sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony. And, indeed, after a
+memorandum on the “Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches of it the
+words, “Finale, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_,” together with the
+wonderfully simple melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s better
+self like the music of its own redemption. Beethoven’s own nature was
+deeply moved at this time. Weber’s _Freischuetz_, with Wilhelmine
+Schroeder, afterwards so celebrated, had excited the greatest
+enthusiasm. Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like an opeotheosis;”
+and Beethoven was determined to let the light of his genius shine
+forth, which he could do only by writing a work “in his own style.”
+The world was “his for another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
+that evening to account. And, indeed, had he not a world of sorrows
+to paint--sorrows which actual life had brought to him? He had also a
+world of joys--joys vouchsafed to him by his surrendering of himself to
+a higher life.
+
+An incident which occurred during this fall of 1822 tells us
+something of this gloomy night of his personal existence. Young
+Schroeder-Devrient, encouraged by her success with _Pamina_ and
+_Agathe_, had chosen the _Fidelio_ for her benefit, and Beethoven
+himself was to wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even during
+the first scene of the opera, everything was in confusion, but that
+no one cared to utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible for you,
+unfortunate man.” Schindler finally, in response to Beethoven’s
+own questioning, wrote something to that effect down. In a trice,
+Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying only: “Quick, out of here!”
+He ran without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself on the sofa,
+covered his face with his two hands, and remained in that position
+until called to table. But, even at table, he did not utter a word. He
+sat at it, the picture of the deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account
+of the incident closes thus: “In all my experience with Beethoven,
+this November day is without a parallel. It mattered not what
+disappointments or crosses misfortune brought him, he was ill-humored
+only for moments, sometimes depressed. He would, however, soon be
+himself again, lift his head proudly, walk about with a firm step, and
+rule in the workshop of his genius. But he never fully recovered from
+the effect of this blow.”
+
+The performance itself brought out, for the first time, in all its
+completeness, musico-dramatic art, in the representation of the scene,
+“Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner, who has so highly developed this
+musico-dramatic art, admits that he acquired the real idea of plastic
+shaping for the stage from Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
+owed it that he was invited, during the same winter (1822-23), to
+compose a new opera. It was Grillparzer’s _Melusine_, but the intention
+to compose it was never carried into effect.
+
+We have now reached the zenith of the life of Beethoven as an artist.
+Besides the Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five last quartets
+which beam in their numerous movements like “the choir of stars about
+the sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition of these last came
+to him just at this time from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
+him a commission to write them, telling him at the same time to ask
+what remuneration he wished for his work. But the Symphony filled up
+the next following year, 1823. Nothing else, except the “fragmentary
+ideas” of the _Bagatellen_, op. 126, engaged him during that time.
+
+“To give artistic form only to what we wish and feel, that most
+essential want of the nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself to
+the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes this mighty symphony, and
+constitutes, so to speak, the sum and substance of his own life and
+intuition. This symphony was soon connected in popular imagination with
+Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic course of human existence.
+
+And when we hear in mind how closely related just here the musician was
+to the poet, this interpretation of the work, given first by Richard
+Wagner on the occasion of its presentation in 1846 in Dresden, seems
+entirely warranted. What was there of which life had not deprived him?
+The words it had always addressed to him were these words from Faust:
+_Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren_ (renounce thou must, thou must
+renounce). He now wished to paint a full picture of this vain struggle
+with relentless fate in tones, and what he had just gone through in
+his own experience enabled him to do it in living colors. All the
+recollections of his youth crowded upon him. There were the “pretty
+lively blonde” whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta, who had a
+short time before returned to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
+loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through the lovely Heiligenstadt
+valley, in the spring of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures of
+the reconciling power of nature, as well as of the _Pastorale_ and
+the C minor symphony. He was now able to form an idea of their common
+meaning, and to put an interpretation on them very different from his
+first idea and first interpretation of them. He began to have a much
+deeper insight into the ultimate questions and enigmas of existence.
+
+But, all of a sudden, his humor left him. He refused to receive any
+visitors. “Samothracians, come not here; bring no one to me,” he wrote
+to Schindler, from the scene of his quiet life in the country. What
+had never happened before, even when he was in the highest stages of
+intellectual exaltation, now came to pass: he repeatedly returned from
+his wanderings through the woods and fields without his hat. “There is
+nothing higher than to approach nearer to the Deity than other men, and
+from such proximity to spread the rays of the Deity among the human
+race.” In these words, directed to the Archduke Rudolph, he summed
+up his views of his art and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
+was everything to him--a language, consolation, admonition, light and
+prophecy.
+
+This we learn most clearly from the Ninth Symphony, which he finished
+at this time, in Baden.
+
+From the dark abyss of nothing arises the Will, infinite Will: and with
+it the struggles and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer personal
+sorrow--for what is personal sorrow compared with the sorrow of the
+world as known to a great mind, experienced by a great heart?--it
+is the struggle for a higher existence which we “mortals have to
+engage in against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time did I curse my
+Creator because he has made his creatures the victims of the merest
+accidents.” Cries of anguish and anger like this--the cries of great
+souls whose broad vision is narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
+will is hampered--find utterance here. “I shall take fate by the
+jaws,” he says again, and how immense is the struggle as well as the
+consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession, which lives as a
+promise in the breasts of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
+such despair; and then, again, such strength and courage after trial,
+had never before been expressed in music. In the Ninth Symphony, we
+hear the voices of the powers which through all ages have been the
+makers of history; of the powers which preserve and renovate the life
+of humanity; and so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
+effort and concentration of self, stands firmly before us, bold and
+clear-eyed--for Will is the world itself.
+
+But when we see the man Beethoven, we find him divided against himself.
+We have often heard him say that he found the world detestable; and
+we shall again hear him express his opinion on that subject plainly
+enough, in this his work.
+
+In the second movement, which he himself calls only _allegro vivace_,
+and which, indeed, is no _scherzo_, not even a Beethoven-like one, but
+rather a painting, we have a dramatic picture of the earthly world
+in the whirl of its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of mere
+existence--such as he himself frequently experienced in such fullness
+that he leaped over chairs and tables--to the raging, uncontrollable
+Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment. But we have in it also a fresco
+painting of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in the existing, of
+exultation and jubilation as well as of the demoniacal in sensuous
+life and pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction this splendid
+symphony affords to a noble mind! It carries such a man from the arms
+of pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature, from appearance to
+reality.
+
+This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime order of the world, which
+calms our minds and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
+is heard in the _adagio_ of the work. And when, in an incomparably
+poetical union to the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
+ordered course of things, the longing, perturbed human heart is
+contrasted by a second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty never
+before imagined, we at last see the soul, so to speak, disappear
+entirely before itself, dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
+steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the final chords, sound like
+the death knell of the human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
+in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to naught.
+
+But the world is man, is the heart, and wants to live, to live! And
+so here the final echo is still the longing, sounding tones of human
+feeling.
+
+Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the development of this powerful
+tragedy, and thus confirms the explanation of it we have given, as
+well as the persistence of ultimate truth in his own heart; for in
+it we find--after the almost raging cry of all earthly existence in
+the orchestral storm of the beginning of the _finale_, which was even
+then called a “feast of scorn at all that is styled human joy”--in the
+sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives of the contra-bassos:
+“No, this confusion reminds us of our despairing condition. This is a
+magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with song.” And then follows the
+theme of the first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is something
+else that I am craving.” “The will and consciousness of man are at
+variance the one with the other, and the cause of man’s despairing
+situation.” Next comes the _motive_ for the _scherzo_: “Nor is it
+this thing either; it is but merriness and small talk”--the trifles
+of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of the _adagio_: “Nor
+is it this thing either,” and thereupon the words: “I myself shall
+sing--music must console us, music must cheer us;” and then the
+melody, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_, is heard, expressive of the
+newly-won peace of the soul, descriptive of human character in the
+full beauty of its simplicity and innocence restored. Beethoven knew
+from what depths of human nature music was born, and what its ultimate
+meaning to mankind is.
+
+We are made to experience this more fully still by the continuation
+of the _finale_ which represents the solution of the conflict of this
+tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here sung plainly springs from
+its only pure and lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
+love--that feeling which, as religion, fills the heart. The _Ihr
+stuerzt nieder, Millionen_ is the foundation, the germ (to express
+it in the language of music of double counterpoint) of the _Seid
+umschlungen, Millionen_, and then the whole sings of joy as the
+transfiguration of the earthly world by eternal love. The will can
+accomplish nothing greater than to sacrifice itself for the good of the
+whole. To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful phenomenon
+in the world was not the conqueror but the overcomer of the world; and
+he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.
+
+This is celebrated by the _finale_ as the last consequence of the
+“struggle with fate,” of man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
+to say that out of the spirit of this music a “new civilization” and
+an existence more worthy of human beings might be developed, since it
+leads us back to the foundation and source of civilization and human
+existence--to religion? Beethoven was one of those great minds who have
+added to the intellectual possessions of our race in regions which
+extend far beyond the merely beautiful in art. When we bear this in
+mind, we can understand why he wanted to write a tenth symphony as
+the counterpart and final representation of these highest conceptions
+of the nature and goal of our race. This tenth symphony he intended
+should transfigure the merely humanly beautiful of the antique world
+in the light of the refined humanity of modern ideas--the earthly in
+the light of the heavenly. And we may understand, too, what we are told
+of himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed in his countenance,
+it shed about him all the charms of childlike innocence. “When he
+smiled,” we are told, “people believed not only in him, but in
+humanity.” Occasionally there would blossom on his lips a smile which
+those who saw could find no other word to describe but “heavenly.” So
+full was his heart of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.
+
+We shall see how the last quartets, which follow now, represent
+this, his sublime transfigured condition of soul, in the most varied
+pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.
+
+Of works composed during this period, we may mention: March to
+“Tarpeja” and the _Bardengeist_ composed in 1813; _Gute Nachricht_,
+_Elegischer Gesang_, _Kriegers Abschied_, composed in 1814; Duos
+for the clarionette and bassoon, which appeared in 1815; _Es ist
+vollbracht_, _Sehnsucht_, Scotch songs, composed in 1815; _Der Mann
+von Wort_, op. 99. _Militaermarsch_, composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
+(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; _Clavierstueck_ in B, composed
+in 1818; _Gratulations-menuet_, composed in 1822. It will be noticed
+that the number of his works grows steadily smaller according as their
+volume or their depth of meaning grows greater. This last will be
+evident especially from his subsequent quartets which, so to speak,
+stand entirely alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+1824-27.
+
+THE LAST QUARTETS.
+
+  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The Great
+    Concert of May, 1824--Preparation for It--Small Returns--Beethoven
+    Appreciated--First Performance of the Missa Solemnis and of the
+    Ninth Symphony--The Quartets--An “Oratorio for Boston”--Overture
+    on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works--His
+    Brother Johann--Postponement of His Journey to London--Presentiment
+    of Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
+    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man--Debility--Calls for Dr.
+    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a Clergyman--His
+    Death.
+
+
+“Noble souls fall usually only because they do not know the mournful
+but incontestable truth that, considering our present customs and
+political institutions, the artist has more to suffer in proportion as
+he is a genuine artist. The more original and gigantic his works are,
+the more severely is he punished for the effects they produce. The
+swifter and sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish from the
+dim vision of the multitude.” Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor
+in art, Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his days; and to whom
+can what he says here be applied with more propriety than to our
+artist, especially at this period of his life, when his thoughts
+took their sublimest flight? His action now seemed indeed to assure
+him unconditional victory, even in his immediate environment--we are
+approaching the celebrated concert of May, 1824--but how soon shall
+we see him again misunderstood by the crowd and, as a consequence,
+lonelier than ever before.
+
+He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher life which art and
+science imply, and which they give it to us to hope for;” and he,
+in consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of himself; so that
+his brother found it necessary to say to him: “You must buy yourself
+a new hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your expense because
+you have so bad a hat.” But now that the “colossal creation” was
+finished, even to the last iota, he began to be in better humor, to
+stroll about the streets gazing at the show-windows, and to salute
+many an old friend, as, for instance, his former teacher, Schenk,
+more warmly. His name was now more frequently on the lips of friends,
+and when it was known that a great symphony, as well as the Mass, was
+finished, people recalled the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
+and a letter signed by men of the higher classes of society--men whom
+Beethoven himself loved and honored--invited him, in February, 1824, to
+abstain no longer from the performance of something great. And, indeed,
+the Italian _roulade_ and all kinds of purely external _bravoura_
+had obtained supremacy in Vienna. The “second childhood of taste”
+threatened to follow the “golden age of art.” It was hoped that home
+art would receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his own sphere, had
+no equal, and that, thanks to his influence, the true and the beautiful
+would rule supreme again.
+
+Schindler found him with the manuscript in his hand. “It is very
+pretty! I am glad!” Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
+another hope was bound up with this. He hoped to obtain compensation
+for his long labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce something new
+worthy of his genius. The preparation for the concert was attended
+by very much that was disagreeable. His own want of resolution and
+suspicious manner contributed their share to this. With the most
+splenetic humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation, I am boiled,
+stewed, roasted.” And when several of his more intimate friends, like
+Count Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted to a little
+subterfuge to make him come to some resolve, he said: “I despise
+deceit. Visit me no more. And let him visit me no more. I’m not
+giving a party.” But, on the other hand, the first violinists of the
+city--Schuppanzigh, Mayseder and Boehm, who is still living--together
+with _capellmeister_ Umlauf, were at the head of the orchestra,
+while a large number of amateurs were ready to lend their assistance
+at a moment’s notice. Their motto was: “Anything and everything
+for Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for the performance of
+Beethoven’s great creations were begun.
+
+“Just as if there were words beneath them?” asked Schindler, speaking
+of the powerful recitatives of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
+Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both subsequently so celebrated,
+found it exceedingly difficult to execute the solos in the Mass and
+the _finale_; but to all prayers that they might be changed, Beethoven
+had only one answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally replied: “Well,
+in God’s name, let us torment ourselves a little longer, take a little
+more trouble, and attempt it.” The performance was to occur on the 7th
+of May. That “rare, noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
+“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a single note. Frau
+von Ertmann was again in Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
+many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven personally invited the
+court. His trusted servant, who was specially helpful to him on this
+occasion, said to him: “We shall take your green coat with us, too;
+the theater is dark; no one can see us. O my great master, not a black
+dress coat have you in your possession.” The house was crowded to
+over-fullness. Only the court box was almost empty, on account of the
+Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s attendant again tells us: “His reception
+was more than imperial; at the fourth round of applause, the people
+became vociferous.” And Boehm tells us how the tears rushed into his
+own and Mayseder’s eyes at the very beginning. And what a success the
+performance was!
+
+In one of the accounts of it that have come down to us, we read: “Never
+in my life did I hear such tempestuous and at the same time such
+hearty applause. At one place--where the kettle-drums so boldly take
+up the rhythmic _motive_ alone--the second movement of the symphony
+was totally interrupted by the applause; the tears stood in the eyes
+of the performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to wield the baton
+until Umlauf called his attention to the action of the audience by a
+motion of his hand. He looked at them and bowed in a very composed
+way.” At the close the applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
+say, the man who was the cause of it all again turned his back to the
+enthusiastic audience. At this juncture, the happy thought occurred to
+Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards the audience, and to ask him to
+notice their applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs. He
+testified his gratitude simply by bowing, and this was the signal for
+the breaking forth of a jubilation such as had scarcely ever before
+been heard in a theater, and which it seemed would never end. The next
+day, we read, in his conversation leaves, what some one said to him:
+“Everybody is shattered and crushed by the magnitude of your works.”
+
+And now, what of the pecuniary success of the performance? It was
+measured by about one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses attending
+it had been too great. Besides, regular subscribers, entitled to their
+seats in boxes, did not pay a farthing for this concert. The court did
+not send in a penny, which, however, they were wont not to fail to do
+on the occasion of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven reached his
+home, Schindler handed him the account of the receipts. “When he saw
+it, he broke down entirely. We took him and laid him on the sofa. We
+remained at his side until late in the night. He asked neither for food
+nor for anything else. Not an audible word did he utter. At last, when
+we observed that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we retired. His
+servant found him next morning in his concert toilette (his green dress
+coat) in the same place, asleep.” This account is by Schindler, who,
+together with the young official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
+Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him home on this occasion.
+
+This was the first performance of the _Missa Solemnis_ (op. 123) and of
+the Ninth Symphony (op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May, 1824.
+The fact that when the performance was repeated on the 24th of May,
+spite of the additional attraction of the “adored” tenor, David, who
+sang Rossini’s _Di tanti palpiti_, (after so much pain), the house
+was half empty, shows that, after all, it was more curiosity to see
+the celebrated deaf man than real taste for art which had filled it
+the first time. Like Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
+pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius. Not till 1845 did the
+magnanimous liberality of one who was really permeated by his spirit
+bring it to pass that a monument was erected to him in his native city,
+Bonn, as that same liberality has brought it to pass that one has been
+erected to him, in our own day, in his second home, Vienna. We have
+reference to the royal gift and to the equally rich playing of Franz
+Liszt.
+
+It now became more imperative for him to give his attention to those
+compositions which promised him some immediate return, to the quartets,
+to write which he had received a commission from persons as noted for
+their generosity to him as for their love of art. These and the op. 127
+occupy the first place in this brilliant constellation of art. “I am
+not writing what I should prefer to write. I am writing for the money
+I need. When that end is satisfied, I hope to write what is of most
+importance to myself and to art--Faust.” He thus expressed himself
+when engaged in the composition of the Ninth Symphony, and there was
+some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for Boston.” And so, likewise,
+the German Melusine and an opera for Naples, the Requiem, the tenth
+symphony, and an overture on B-A-C-H remained projects and no more. But
+they were also a great prospect for the future while he was engaged in
+the labors of the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable influence
+on the composition of the quartets themselves. The more he became
+interested in these works--and what works were better calculated to
+interest a composer of such poetic power--the more did these ideas
+become interwoven into the works themselves. They generated the
+peculiarly grand style and the monumental character which distinguish
+these last quartets. The soul-pictures from Faust especially are here
+eloquently re-echoed in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed, the
+Prince, who had given him the commission to write them, seemed to be
+the very man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was highest and best
+in art, even in such a narrow sphere. For he had so arranged it that,
+even before its production in Vienna, that “sublime masterpiece,” the
+Mass, was publicly performed. He informs us that the effect on the
+public was indescribable; that he had never before heard anything, not
+even of Mozart’s music, which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
+genius was centuries in advance of his age, and that probably there
+was not among his hearers a single one enlightened enough to take in
+the full beauty of his music. On the other hand, there reigned in
+Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the restoration, with its
+idol Rossini, a revelry which had driven all noble and serious music
+into the background. Besides, the Prince had ordered that the costs for
+musical composition should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”
+
+Beethoven now went to work in earnest, and this composition was
+destined to be his last.
+
+He had already made a great many drafts of the works above mentioned,
+one for op. 127 in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding quartet
+in A minor (op. 131), in the year 1823, when he was completing the
+Ninth Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet in A minor remind us, in
+more ways than one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony--the latter by
+its passion so full of pain, the former, with its _adagio_, where the
+longing glances to the stars have generated a wonderful, melancholy
+peace of soul. The immediately following third quartet (op. 130) stands
+out before us like a newly created world, but one which is “not of this
+world.” And, indeed, the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
+more and more to liberate him, heart and soul, from this world, and
+the whole composition of the quartets appears like a preparation for
+the moment when the mind, released from existence here, feels united
+with a higher being. But it is not a painfully happy longing for death
+that here finds expression. It is the heartfelt, certain and joyful
+feeling of something really eternal and holy that speaks to us in the
+language of a new dispensation. And even the pictures of the world
+here to be found, be they serious or gay, have this transfigured
+light--this outlook into eternity. There is little in the world of art,
+in which the nature of the religious appears so fully in its substance
+and essence without showing itself at any time otherwise than purely
+human, and therefore imperishable--never clothed in an accidental and
+perishable garb. This explains how a people not noted for any musical
+genius, but who are able to understand the spirit and meaning of music,
+the English, whom Beethoven himself esteemed so highly, considered
+his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his music is religious in its
+ultimate meaning and spirit. This character of his music finds its
+purest and most striking expression in the last quartets; and these
+quartets enable us to understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
+Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that our civilization might
+receive a new soul from the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
+religion which might permeate it through and through.
+
+We now pass to an account of the details of the origin of these works.
+
+The bitterness which Beethoven was destined henceforth to taste
+proceeded for the most part from his own relatives. “God is my witness,
+my only dream is to get away entirely from you, from my miserable
+brother, and from this despicable family which has been tied to me,”
+he writes, in 1825, to his growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
+touching on these sad things, because now, especially, they exercised
+the greatest influence on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
+and because they finally led to a catastrophe which played a part in
+bringing about his premature death.
+
+His weak and “somewhat money-loving” brother, Johann, had, indeed, in
+consequence of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference, married a
+silly wife. He found it impossible to control her course, or even
+to get a divorce from her, because he had made over to her a part of
+his property, and was “inflexible” on this very point. And so the
+brother was not able, spite of many invitations, to induce Beethoven
+to visit him even once on his estate of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf,
+on the Danube. Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of 1823: “O accursed
+shame! Have you not a spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself by
+entering such company?” Yet, his sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees.
+But the mother of the boy continued, now that he was beginning to
+mature, to draw him into her own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven
+wrote in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous breath of the dragon;
+and levity, falsehood and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle, who
+was at the same time a father to him, followed. Carried away by the
+impulses of his moral feelings, the latter was severe even to harshness
+with the boy, and yet could not dispense with the young man’s company
+because of his increasing age and isolation. The natural craving for
+love, moral severity and the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the
+texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.
+
+The correspondence of this year, 1824, turns principally upon the
+pecuniary realization from his new, great works; for he wanted to be in
+London in the fall without fail. We have also a letter of his about his
+will, to his lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He writes: “Only in
+divine art is the power which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
+heavenly muses the best part of my life.” We hear also the celestial
+sounds of the _adagio_, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was himself
+filled with this true “manna;” for he exclaims in these same summer
+days, “Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me to be delivered over
+to the hands of death, for I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
+with and commands me to finish. I feel as if I had written scarcely a
+note.” And we even now find the sketches of those pieces expressive
+of a happiness more than earthly, or else, in gay irony, of contempt
+for the existing world, or of the mighty building up of a new world;
+the _alla danza tedesca_ and the _poco scherzando_ of op. 130, as well
+as the great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to be the original
+_finale_ of op. 130, and which, by its superscription, “overture”
+and the gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of the plan of the
+_Bachouverture_. Even the unspeakably deep melancholy and, at the same
+time, blissful, hopeful _cavatina_ of the same third quartet op. 130,
+blossoms forth now from the feeling of his heart, which has taken into
+itself the full meaning of the eternal, and is filled with a higher
+joy. We here find, as in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs of
+a new and deep-felt language of the heart, a real personal language,
+acquired to humanity for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
+which, in our own day, has led to the most touching soul-pictures in
+art--to the transfiguration of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying song
+of redeeming love.
+
+A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The desolate horrors that
+surround him endow him with the power to understand more clearly the
+higher tasks of the mind in which his art had a living part. We see
+plainly that his nature tends more and more towards the one thing
+necessary--“All love is sympathy,” sympathy with the sorrows of the
+world, says the philosopher. And so while his vision takes an immense
+sweep over the field of existence, we see that an inexhaustible source
+of patient goodness and of the kindest and most heartfelt love, springs
+up within him. “From childhood up it was my greatest happiness to be
+able to work for others,” he once said; and again when the overture,
+op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much praised on this account, etc.
+But what is that all to the great Master of Tones above--above--above!
+rightly the Most High, when here below it is used only for purposes
+of ridicule. Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen to the sublime irony
+of his tones in op. 130, but also to the lustrous mildness of the
+_adagio_ of op. 127, in which in the little movement in E major, the
+human soul itself, filled with the spirit of the Eternal, so to speak,
+opens its eyes and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all that is, that
+was and that will be. No mortal man has lifted my veil. He comes from
+Himself alone, and to this Only One all things owe their existence.”
+Beethoven wrote out this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824, framed
+it and placed it on his writing table before him. He well knew what
+the really creative and preserving deity in human life is. That deity
+lived in his own most heartfelt thought and feeling. It was to him a
+continual source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To it he was indebted
+for the poetic creations which sprung unbidden from his brain.
+
+The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to the spring and summer of
+1825. His journey to London had been postponed. Schindler gives as the
+reason of this, the “bad behavior of his dearly beloved nephew, which
+had become somewhat notorious.” How could his “son” be abandoned,
+thus unguarded, to “the poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
+invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony was again taken in hand, and
+from the sketches of it now made, we know all that is certain about
+it. It was intended to do no less than to add the “beautiful to the
+good,” to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty of the antique,
+or rather to transfigure the mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
+light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed, a picture of this kind,
+a direct, intentional, higher picture of the world in the _adagio,
+in modo lidico_, in the second quartet. It is called the “Song of
+Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity,” and is a choral between
+the repetitions of which, ever richer and more heartfelt, the joyful
+pulsations of new life are expressed. Beethoven had been seriously
+sick during this spring. His affection for his nephew had assumed, in
+consequence of one continual irritation of his feelings, the nature
+of a passion which tormented the boy to death, but which, like every
+passion, brought no happiness to Beethoven himself. The first movement
+of this quartet in A minor is a psychological picture--a poem of the
+passions--the consuming character of which can be explained only by
+this very condition of the artist’s own soul. And how Beethoven’s
+creations always came from his own great soul, that soul so fully
+capable of every shade of feeling and excitement! The account left us
+by the young poet, Rellstab, written in the spring of 1825, gives us
+a perfect description of the state Beethoven was in at this time. He
+describes him “a man with a kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
+Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness of this description.
+“In what part of me am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to his
+nephew, whose frivolity had already begun to bear evil fruit. On
+another occasion he said: “O, trouble me no more. The man with the
+scythe will not respite me much longer.”
+
+Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps because of this extreme
+excitement of his whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very rich
+in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,” he had to write the
+quartet in C sharp minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
+130). The last quartet also, that in F major, had its origin in that
+“inexhaustible fancy”--a fancy which always tended to the production
+of such works. Hence it is that the number of movements increases. The
+second has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the fourth (C sharp
+minor), seven--as if the old form of the suite, or the _divertimento_
+of the septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s comparison immediately
+shows the presence of the old organic articulation of the form of
+the sonata. These movements are in fact only transitions to, and
+connecting links between, two colossal movements. They increase the
+usual number of movements, although frequently nothing more than short
+sentences, and at times only a few measures. But the introductory
+movement and the _finale_ in the quartet in A minor loom up like the
+pillars of Hercules, and determine the impassioned character and the
+dramatic style of the whole. Beethoven himself called it a piece of
+art worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130, when the great
+fugue, op. 133, is considered a part of it, which in our day it should
+always be conceded to be. And how immensely great is this spirit when,
+in the quartet in C sharp minor, it awakes from the most profound
+contemplation of self to the contemplation of the world and its
+pain.--“Through sorrow, joy!”
+
+We must refer the reader to the third volume of _Beethoven’s Leben_,
+published in Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the desolation
+of our artist, produced by the narrow circle with which the restoration
+of Metternich and Gentz surrounded him, at a time when his own mind and
+feeling were expanding to greater dimensions than ever before. To the
+same source we must send him for a description of the full earnestness
+and greatness of this last period in the life of our artist. In that
+work was for the first time presented to the public, from original
+sources, and especially from the records of Beethoven’s written
+conversations, extant in the Berlin library, the comfortless--but
+at the same time, and spite of continual torment, intellectually
+exalted--picture of his character. “Words are interdicted. It is a
+fortunate thing that tones are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the
+poet of the oratorio, _Saul and David_, to him at this time--a work
+in which he wished to give expression both to his own relation as a
+human being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working nature of his
+art. The execution of this plan was prevented only by death. The
+general demoralization which had invaded Vienna with the Congress
+made its effects felt directly in his own circle, through the agency
+of his nephew, and thus paved the way for disaster to himself. “Our
+age has need of vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
+miserable wretches,” he cries out at this very time to his nephew,
+who had permitted himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated
+to irritate, at the expense of a genuine _faijak_--as Beethoven was
+wont now to call the good Viennese--the music-dealer Haslinger; and
+the matter had become public. But he adds to the above: “Much as my
+heart resists causing pain to a single human being.” And, indeed, his
+heart knew nothing of such anger or vengeance. It was always a real
+sympathizer with the sorrows born of human weakness--a sorrow which
+with him swelled to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself. To
+this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is indebted for its series
+of pictures, in which we see the world created, as it were, anew
+with a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy, humorous,
+cheerful coloring of the several pieces--pieces which, indeed, are
+no mere sonata movements, but full pictures of life and of the soul.
+The _cavatina_ overtops it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
+admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from him “fresh tears.”
+
+“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he implores his “son.” Speaking of
+the rabble of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer the whole week
+like a saint;” and, on another occasion, still more painfully: “May
+God be with, thee and me. It will be all over soon with thy faithful
+father.” His days, so strangely divided between the loftiest visions of
+the spirit and the meanest troubles of life, henceforth render him more
+and more indifferent to the latter. We find persons invade his circle
+whom otherwise he would never have permanently endured about him, and
+who frequently led him into minor sorts of dissipation even in public
+places. This reacted on the nephew, whose respect for the character of
+his “great uncle” could not long stand a course of action apparently
+like his own. But even now we see a picture in tones of which one of
+the _faijaks_, the government officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied
+it, writes to Beethoven himself: “When one can survey it thus calmly,
+new worlds come into being.” We have reference to the quartet in C
+sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look beaming with light, dripping with
+sorrow and joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this time in beautiful
+Baden, and, indeed, this work, which he himself called the “greatest”
+of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different from the
+Ninth Symphony, the meaning of his own life, which he here himself, as
+Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a wild melody of pleasure
+and pain. But we now recognize more clearly that something “like a
+vulture is devouring his heart.” We, indeed, are drawing near to the
+catastrophe which led to his premature end.
+
+As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed “stormy scenes.”
+An uncontrollable love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
+the streets had led the young man into worse and worse courses,
+to falsehood and embezzlement. And when these were discovered, he
+secretly ran away from home. It was not long, however, before the
+loving weakness of his uncle called him back. The only effect of this
+was henceforth to condemn Beethoven himself to a slavish, too slavish
+life, one which would have been a torment even to an ordinary mortal,
+but which must have been doubly so to a passionate, great man who was
+deaf. The nephew found fault with his uncle, with his “reproaches”
+and “rows.” He accused him even of having led him into had company.
+He dreaded other reproaches still and was afraid of even personal
+violence. At last, one day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
+the frightful news that his son had left his dwelling with a pair of
+pistols, and intended to take his own life. A long and terrible morning
+was spent searching for the unfortunate youth, who was finally led
+home, with a wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done now. Torment me
+no longer with reproofs and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
+and feeling may be inferred from the words found in his conversation
+leaves: “I have grown worse, because my uncle wanted to make me
+better;” and from these others: “He said it was not hatred, but a very
+different feeling, that moved him against you.”
+
+The uncle, alas! understood these expressions better than those
+about him. These had only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
+“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly to be seen in his bent
+attitude. The man, firm and upright in all the movements of his body,
+was gone. A person of about seventy was before us--yielding, without a
+will, the sport of every breath of air.” So wrote Schindler. Beethoven
+called for the Bible “in the real language into which Luther had
+translated it.” A few days later, we find in his conversations the
+following memorandum: “On the death of Beethoven.” Did he mean his own
+death, or the death of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to speak,
+lost his own life? Be this as it may, he now sang the deepest song of
+his soul, and it was destined to be his dying song. We refer to the
+_adagio_ in the last quartet, op. 135. His harp soon after this grew
+silent, and forever. Henceforth we have only projects or fragments of
+works. But he touched it once more, like King Gunther in the Edda,
+“seated among serpents,” the most venomous of which--the pangs of his
+own conscience--menaced him with death. Among the pictures in which he
+paints the meaning of a theme similar to that of this _adagio_ (pieces
+thus independent of one another cannot rightly be called variations),
+there is one whose minor key and rhythm show it to be a funeral
+ceremony of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt he may have incurred
+he atoned for in his heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
+His soul is free. This the theme itself tells us, eloquently and
+distinctly. Here the soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
+own primeval source, and towards the close plumes its wing for a happy,
+lofty flight, to regions it has longed to enter. The other pictures
+show us this full, certain and joyful possession of one’s self, and the
+last even seems to resolve the soul into its faculties when it floats
+about the Eternal Being in the most blissful happiness--a vision and
+condition which, of all the means of expression of the intellect, only
+music is able to describe, and which proves to us that, in the case of
+our artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.
+
+And thus it comes that a movement with which there is none to be
+compared, one which to our feelings is the richest and most perfect
+of all movements, and, at the same time, of the most brilliant
+transparency, made its way into a work which otherwise shows no trace
+of the magnitude of this his last effort. For the _finale_ is only a
+sham-play of those magic powers which our master so well knew how to
+conjure up, both in sublime horror and in saving joy.
+
+But his physical condition was soon destined to be in keeping with
+the condition of his soul above described. When, indeed, Karl was
+convalescing as well as could be desired, and he had decided to follow
+the military calling, Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally at
+least, he again looked fresh and cheerful. “He knew,” says Schindler,
+“how to rise superior to his fate, and his whole character bore an
+‘antique dignity.’” But even now he told the old friend of his youth,
+Wegeler, that he intended “to produce only a few more great works,
+and then, like an old child, to close his earthly career somewhere
+among good men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature seemed shattered.
+“What dost thou want? Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the truest
+resignation sufficient for thee, even if thou art in want?” This one
+conversation with Karl tells us everything.
+
+Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared. A single blow, and his
+powerful, manly form was shattered like that of the meanest of mortals.
+And, indeed, that blow was struck with almost unexpected violence.
+
+After his recovery, Karl was released by the police on the express
+condition that he would remain in Vienna only one day more. His scar,
+however, prevented his entering the service. Where, then, could he go,
+now that the fall was just beginning? His brother, Johann, invited him
+to his Wasserhof estate near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
+as he had once: _non possibile per me_--impossible for me. But his
+sojourn in a country house not constructed so as to guard against
+the cold and dampness, a want of attention to his growing infirmity,
+misunderstandings with his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with
+the brother himself, who, after it, refused him the use of his close
+carriage, and, lastly, his departure in the cold of winter in the
+“devil’s own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired to send
+our patient back to Vienna, the subject of a violent fit of sickness.
+In addition to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician, and
+none visited his sick bed until the third day after his return. The
+doctor who came was not Beethoven’s customary physician, and totally
+misunderstood the nature of the disease. Other shocks succeeded, and
+the consequence was a violent attack of dropsy, the symptoms of which
+had first shown themselves in Gneixendorf.
+
+His long, painfully long end was now beginning. His constitution,
+powerful as that of a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
+nearly three months. As labor of any kind was out of the question, the
+arrival of Handel’s works from London, which came to him as a present,
+supplied him with the distraction he wished for, in his own sphere. It
+was not long before attacks of suffocation at night distressed him and
+it became necessary to perform the operation paracentesis. When he saw
+the stream of water gush forth, he remarked, with that sublimity of
+humor so peculiarly his own, that the surgeon reminded him of Moses,
+who struck the rock with his rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he
+added: “Better water from the stomach than from the pen.” With this he
+consoled himself. But he grew worse, and a medical consultation seemed
+necessary to his friends. His own heart forebode him no good, and he
+again made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827. He made his beloved
+nephew “sole heir to all he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join
+his regiment the day before, and this had a good and quieting effect
+on Beethoven. He knew that the young man would be best provided for
+there, and testified his gratitude to General von Stutterheim, who had
+received him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet in C sharp
+minor--his “greatest” quartet. He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be
+called. But he had had a falling out years before with him, and the
+celebrated physician did not now want to excite the displeasure of his
+colleagues. Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly when I told
+him the doctor’s decision.”
+
+But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had exchanged a few words,
+the old friends lay weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor prescribed
+iced punch to “quicken the organs of digestion, enervated by too much
+medicine.” The first physician who was called to attend him tells
+us: “The effect of the prescription was soon perceptible. He grew
+cheerful, was full of witty sallies at times, and even dreamt that
+he might be able to finish his oratorio _Saul and David_.” From his
+written conversations, we see that a great many of his friends had
+gathered about his bed. He thought of finishing the Bach overture for
+one of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to busy himself with the
+Tenth Symphony once more. He had again to experience the feeling of
+pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition--an embarrassment now
+more painful than ever--brought about more especially by the necessity
+of procuring a military outfit for Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed,
+expressly promised a short time before to send him money, but he proved
+a “princely boaster;” and there was no prospect of an income from any
+other source. All his completed works had been sold, and the little
+fortune he had laid aside at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
+irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.
+
+His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous” English, who had already
+promised him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time. The third
+operation had been performed. His long-continued solitude had alienated
+men from him in Vienna; and, especially after his experiences with the
+_Akademie_ in 1824, he had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
+for art of his second home. This induced Schindler to write to England:
+“But what afflicts him very much is, that no one here concerns himself
+in the least about him; and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
+him is very surprising.” After this, we find only his most intimate
+friends at his bedside. Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened to
+be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes: “Thou must bless my boy as
+Voltaire blessed Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling and giving
+concerts, also saw him, and at the sight of his suffering--he had just
+undergone the fourth operation--burst into tears. Beethoven had, at the
+moment of Hummel’s visit, received a little picture as a present, and
+he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear Hummel, the house in which
+Haydn was born--the miserable peasant hut, in which so great a man was
+born!”
+
+He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who had purchased his Mass and
+his Ninth Symphony, and who was destined one day to become the owner
+of the _Niebelungen_, for some old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti
+recommended an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it seemed to him, would
+surely save him. But it had the very opposite effect, and he was soon
+taken with violent pains. He wrote to London: “I only ask God that
+I may be preserved from want as long as I must here endure a living
+death.” The response was one thousand guldens from the Philharmonic
+Society of that city “on account of the concert in preparation.” “It
+was heart-rending to see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
+in tears of joy and gratitude” when he received them. This was his
+last joy, and the excitement it caused accelerated his end. His wound
+broke open again and did not close any more. He felt this at first a
+wonderful relief, and while he felt so he dictated some letters for
+London, which are among the most beautiful he has written. He promised
+to finish the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had other “gigantic”
+plans, especially as regards his Faust music. “That will be something
+worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The overflow of his fancy was
+“indescribable, and his imagination showed an elasticity which his
+friends had noticed but seldom when he was in health.” At the same
+time, the most beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated before
+his mind, and in conversation he always represented his own works
+as filled with such “poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
+“indescribably great. His dissolution was approaching” with giant
+steps, and even his friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
+wrote to London on the 24th March: “He feels that his end is near, for
+yesterday he said to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands, friends; the
+play is over.’” And further: “He advances towards death with really
+Socratic wisdom and unexampled equanimity.” He could well be calm of
+heart and soul. He had done his duty as an artist and as a man. This
+same day he wrote a codicil to his will in favor of his nephew; and now
+his friends had only one deep concern--to reconcile him with heaven.
+The physician approved, and Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
+“I will.”
+
+The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly performed his last religious
+duties. Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him say, after he had
+received the sacrament: “Reverend sir, I thank you. You have brought me
+consolation.”
+
+He then reminded Schindler of the letter to London, “May God bless
+them,” he said. The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad! too bad! it’s
+too late!” These were his very last words. He fell immediately after
+into such an agony that he was not able to utter a single syllable
+more. On the 24th and 25th of March, the people came in crowds to see
+him again. Even the _faijaks_, Hoslinger and Holz, as well as the poet
+Castelli, were among them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,” said
+Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur, who, in relating the incident,
+added that when Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he covered his
+face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’ he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his
+hand, but never saw him again.’” This was the last act of his life.
+
+“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock, which he had received as a
+present from Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as it still does
+when a storm is approaching. Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
+churchyard, to select a grave for him. A storm of loud thunder and
+hail came raging on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van Beethoven
+and the young composer, Anselm Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither
+from Graz to look upon his revered master once more, were present in
+the room of the dying man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it with a
+lurid flash. The moribund opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and
+looked up with a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of the hero
+would not out. But when his uplifted hand fell back on the bed, his
+eyes half closed. Not another breath! Not another heart-beat! It was I
+that closed the half-open eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
+an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment. This was the 28th of March,
+1827.
+
+“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter, wept at his grave, but a
+world wept at it.” These are the words of the orator of the day on
+the occasion of the unveiling of the first monument to Beethoven in
+1845, in Bonn. But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring was
+a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty thousand human beings surged
+over the street where now the votive church stands; for in the
+_Schwarzspanierhaus_ behind it, Beethoven had lived during the last
+years of his life. The leading _capellmeisters_ of the city carried
+the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.
+
+“The news of his death had violently shaken the people out of their
+indifference,” says Dr. G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
+poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the funeral procession, “the
+general of musicians” whom men were carrying to the grave! The poet,
+Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration. He took for his text the
+words: “He was an artist, and he was what he was only through his art.”
+Our very being and our sublimest feelings are touched when we hear the
+name of
+
+  LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+  [A] To part from thee, my dear, this day,
+      And know that I can’t with thee stay,
+      Is more than my sad heart can bear.
+
+
+
+
+  TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,
+
+  COMPRISING
+
+  =MEMORIES;= A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.
+    BY MAX MÜLLER.
+
+  =GRAZIELLA;= A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.
+    BY A. DE LAMARTINE.
+
+  =MARIE;= A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.
+    BY ALEX. PUSHKIN.
+
+  =MADELEINE;= A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.
+    BY JULES SANDEAU.
+
+  _In neat box, per set_,             _Price, $3.00._
+  _Sold separately, per volume_,      _Price, $1.25._
+
+Of “Memories” the London _Academy_ says: “It is a prose poem. * * * It
+is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any work, however small,
+that does not bear some marks of its special bent, and the traces of
+research and philosophy In this little story are apparent, while its
+beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided mind, to which
+we already owe large debts of gratitude.”
+
+Of “Graziella” the Chicago _Tribune_ says: “It glows with love of
+the beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a perfect
+story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm and flow,
+the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform with
+‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the shelves
+of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong words.
+‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”
+
+Of “Marie” the Cincinnati _Gazette_ says: “This is a Russian love tale,
+written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little
+narratives that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic,
+and a Russian classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so
+distinctively Russian. We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and
+meet, face to face, the high-souled, simple-minded Russian.”
+
+Of “Madeleine” the New York _Evening Telegram_ says: “More than thirty
+years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French Academy and
+has since almost become a French classic. It abounds both in pathos
+and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love of the most
+exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so sweet,
+so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
+public.”
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every
+schoolboy._”--_Saturday Review, London._
+
+  Tales of Ancient Greece.
+
+  BY THE REV. SIR G. W. COX, BART., M.A.,
+  Trinity College, Oxford.
+
+  _12mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price, $1.50._
+
+
+“Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of
+manner which will recommend it to all.”--_The Examiner, London._
+
+“It is only when we take up such a book as this, that we realize how
+rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”--_Inquirer, Philadelphia._
+
+“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
+versions might well find a place in every family.”--_The Nation, New
+York._
+
+“The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely
+peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”--_Standard, Chicago._
+
+“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among those
+English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable rank
+in the investigation of Greek history.”--_Edinburgh Review._
+
+“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin,
+and yet fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for
+the first time, were ever before presented in so chaste and popular
+form.”--_Golden Rule, Boston._
+
+“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
+makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales, or
+the ‘Arabian Nights.’ * * * We do not know of a Christmas book which
+promises more lasting pleasures.”--_Publishers’ Weekly._
+
+“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its
+contents are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated
+intelligence. * * * The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome
+addition to a department of literature that is thus far quite too
+scantily furnished.”--_Tribune, Chicago._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+  SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,
+  FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
+
+  BY MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.
+
+  AUTHOR OF “SIX LITTLE COOKS,” “DORA’S HOUSEKEEPING,” ETC.
+
+  _12 mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price $1.50._
+
+
+“A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times
+to the foundation of the existing Republic.”--_Cincinnati Gazette._
+
+“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little
+history may be commended as the best of its kind that has yet
+appeared.”--_Bulletin, Philadelphia._
+
+“A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium
+of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”--_Christian
+Union, New York._
+
+“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to
+conscientiously give it our heartiest commendation. We know no
+elementary history of France that can at all be compared with
+it.”--_Living Church._
+
+“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and
+nation--one that will seize and hold the attention of all bright
+boys and girls who have a chance to read it.”--_Sunday Afternoon,
+Springfield_, (_Mass._)
+
+“We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple
+and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion.
+The book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious
+study.”--_Courant, Hartford, Ct._
+
+“Miss Kirkland has composed her ‘Short History of France’ in the way
+in which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she
+has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
+reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of
+events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the
+characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods.”--_The
+Nation, N. Y._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_Unequalled by anything of the kind with which we are acquainted._”
+                                           --_Christian Advocate, N. Y._
+
+  CUMNOCK’S CHOICE READINGS.
+
+  FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. ARRANGED FOR THE EXERCISES OF
+  THE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND PUBLIC READER, WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE.
+  EDITED BY ROBERT MC’LAIN CUMNOCK, A. M., PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND
+  ELOCUTION, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.
+
+  _Large 12mo., cloth_,      _Price, $1.75._
+
+
+“It ought to become a special favorite among school and college
+students and public readers.”--_Evening Post, New York._
+
+“Taking into account the admirable type, the excellent taste, the
+brevity of the rhetorical counsels, the unsurpassed variety, we
+prefer Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”--_Christian
+Register, Boston._
+
+“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during the
+past ten years, we know of none so complete in all respects and so
+well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before
+us.”--_Transcript, Boston._
+
+“No choicer casket of prose and poetry has been given to us by any
+other author. These are the culled flowers from the bouquet of
+literature. They are of every nature known to the language, and each is
+of the best of its kind.”--_The Post, San Francisco._
+
+“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
+the English language are here assembled for the uses of the student of
+elocution. * * * The collection is valuable as a treasury of literary
+gems, apart from its worth as a manual of declamation.”--_Tribune,
+Chicago._
+
+“The volume consists in great measure of fresh specimens that have
+recently found their way into current literature, and present the charm
+of novelty with the merit of good writing. The ancient stream is thus
+enriched with supplies from new fountains, and living productions take
+the place of the veteran pieces which have grown old in the course of
+protracted service. * * * They are illustrations of the best literature
+of the day.”--_Tribune, New York._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_Dr. Gibson is a champion of more than ordinary skill._”--Gazette,
+Cincinnati.
+
+  THE FOUNDATIONS
+  OF
+  CHRISTIANITY.
+
+  BY REV. J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,
+  Author of “AGES BEFORE MOSES.”
+
+  _Square 16 mo._,      _Price, $1.00._
+
+
+“Admirable because of its brevity and directness, and because it
+answers, without any theological circumlocution, the objections
+which modern infidelity puts forth so pertinaciously.”--_Inquirer,
+Philadelphia._
+
+“The book, both in manner and matter, will be found to be just the
+thing which many thoughtful yet perplexed persons need to direct their
+inquiries and resolve their doubts. The style is fresh, vigorous and
+incisive.”--_Canada Presbyterian, Toronto._
+
+“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who
+thinks at all on these noble themes, and we are sure that its
+effect will be wholesome and powerful in removing difficulties,
+strengthening defenses, and establishing the spirit upon sure
+foundations.”--_Observer, New York._
+
+“Dr. Gibson’s book, though so condensed, is admirable in method,
+and vigorous and fresh in style, throughout. As a brief and popular
+presentation of the fundamental truths, such as are apt to expand
+beyond ordinary ability to read in most hands, nothing more valuable
+has recently emanated from the press.”--_Rev. Dr. H. M. Field, in the
+Evangelist._
+
+“The treatment is masterly. The author grapples the points essential
+to the argument with courage and vigor, and in a style notable for its
+trenchant force, sets them forth in convincing light. While others meet
+the infidel argument more on the skirmish line, Christian people will
+be glad to see one like Dr. Gibson bearing down upon the very centre of
+the enemy’s position.”--_Rev. Dr. J. A. Smith, in the Standard._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_An exceedingly interesting narrative of an extraordinary life._”--The
+Standard.
+
+  LIFE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD:
+  HIS PATRIOTISM AND HIS TREASON.
+
+  BY HON. I. N. ARNOLD,
+  AUTHOR OF “LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”
+
+  _Crown, 8vo., with Portrait_,      _Price, $2.50._
+
+
+This Life of Arnold is full of new facts, now first given to the
+public. Manuscripts from the family of Arnold, in England and in
+Canada, and the Shippen manuscripts, have enabled the author to make
+new contributions to Revolutionary history of great interest. The
+unpublished manuscripts of General Schuyler, to which the author has
+had access, has thrown new light upon the expedition to Canada and the
+campaign against Burgoyne. The author does not, to any extent, excuse
+Arnold’s treason, but aims to do full justice to him as a soldier and
+patriot. For Arnold, the traitor, he has no plea but “guilty;” for
+Arnold, the soldier and patriot, he asks a hearing and justice.
+
+“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
+baseness; and while exhibiting the former and the splendid services by
+which it was illustrated, with generous earnestness, does not in any
+degree extenuate the turpitude of the other.”--_Harper’s Monthly._
+
+“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is
+thrown on the prominent actors and events of history. * * * Bancroft
+erroneously asserts that Arnold was not present at the first battle
+of Saratoga. Upon this point the author has justice and right on his
+side, and to Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive
+campaign seems greatly attributable.”--_New England Historical and
+Genealogical Register._
+
+“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold
+has accomplished his task wonderfully well. * * * It is rarely that one
+meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
+the devoted wife of Benedict Arnold; she mourned his fallen greatness,
+but even in his ignominity was faithful to the vows by which she had
+sworn to love and care for him until death.”--_Traveller, Boston._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
+
+
+  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
+
+  Superscripted text is preceded by a carat character: 81^a.
+
+  Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.
+
+  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+  Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
+
+  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69693 ***
diff --git a/69693-h/69693-h.htm b/69693-h/69693-h.htm
index 63293be..e47164a 100644
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-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Life of Beethoven</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Biographies of musicians</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Louis Nohl</p>
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: John J. Lalor</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 3, 2023 [eBook #69693]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
-  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN ***</div>
-
-<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<figure class="figcenter illowp51" id="i_frontispiece" style="max-width: 450px;">
-<img class="w100" src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="Ludwig Van Beethoven">
-<figcaption class="caption">
-
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Ludwig Van Beethoven.</span></p></figcaption>
-</figure>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="titlepage">
-<p><span class="large"><i>BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS.</i></span></p>
-
-<hr class="tb">
-
-<h1><span class="smcap">Life of Beethoven</span></h1>
-
-<p>BY<br>
-<span class="xlarge">LOUIS NOHL</span></p>
-
-<p>TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN<br>
-BY<br>
-<span class="large">JOHN J. LALOR.</span></p>
-
-<hr class="tiny">
-<p>“<i>Our age has need of vigorous minds.</i>”</p>
-<hr class="tiny">
-
-<p>CHICAGO:<br>
-JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.<br>
-1881.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="center">COPYRIGHT.<br>
-<span class="large">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.</span><br>
-A. D. 1880.<br>
-<br>
-STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED<br>
-BY<br>
-THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.</p>
-</div>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Music</span> is the most popular of the arts. It fills
-man’s breast with a melancholy joy. Even the brute
-creation is not insensible to its power. Yet, at its
-best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
-without reason are training, practice, talent, and
-the development of that talent, required for the
-understanding of her secrets. “One wishes to be
-heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion
-becomes only women, but music should strike fire
-from the mind of a man.” In some such strain as
-this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
-how slowly the works of the great symphonist found
-a hearing and recognition from the general public.</p>
-
-<p>Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the
-name of Beethoven? Who is there that, hearing
-one of his compositions, does not feel the presence
-of a sublime, all-ruling power—of a power that
-springs from the deepest sources of all life? His
-very name inspires us with a feeling of veneration,
-and we can readily believe the accounts that have
-come down to us; how even strangers drew back
-with a species of awe, before this man of imposing
-appearance, spite of his smallness of stature, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span>
-his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
-piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two
-charcoal-burners who suddenly stopped their heavily
-laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow pass,
-this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all
-Vienna, and who was wont to stand and think, and
-then, humming, to go his way, moving about bee-like
-through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book
-in his hand.</p>
-
-<p>We are moved with the same feeling of respect
-that moved those common men, when we hear only
-Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
-are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel
-in that music the presence of the spirit that animates
-and sustains the world, and which is continually
-calling new life into existence. Even the
-person who is not a musician himself may feel, in
-these mighty productions, the certainty of the
-presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
-sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of
-hearts, the joys and sorrows of which Beethoven
-has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when we
-hear them, that the person who in them speaks to
-us has, in very deed, something to tell us, something
-of our own life; because he lived and felt
-more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and
-loved and suffered what we all love and suffer, more
-deeply than any other child of dust. In Beethoven,
-we meet with a personage really great, both in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>
-mind and heart, one who was able to become a
-sublime model to us, because life and art were serious
-things with him, and one who made it his duty
-“to live not for himself, but for other men.” The
-high degree of self-denying power found in this
-phenomenon of art, it is that has such an elevating
-effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks
-of the artist he discharged with equal fidelity.
-His life was the foundation on which the superstructure
-of his works rose. His greatness as a
-man was the source of his greatness as an artist.
-The mere story of his life, given here in outline,
-reveals to us the internal springs of his artistic
-creations, and we must perforce admit, that the
-history of Beethoven’s life is a part of the history
-of the higher intellectual life of our time and of
-humanity.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<table>
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdl">Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His<br>
-Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears in<br>
-Public at the Age of Seven—Errors as to His Age—Travels in Holland—Studies<br>
-the Organ in Vienna—His Fame Foretold—His Personal<br>
-Appearance—Meets Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian,<br>
-Elector of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual<br>
-Training—Madame von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and<br>
-Hayden—Compositions written in Vienna</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdl">Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The<br>
-Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First Great Exploits—Plans<br>
-for Future Work—Decides to Remove to the North—New Compositions—His<br>
-Improvisations—Disappointments in North Germany—Prince<br>
-Louis Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His<br>
-Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The<br>
-Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness Again—Thoughts<br>
-of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning of His Music—His<br>
-“Will”—Disappointment—Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio—The<br>
-Leonore Overture—Other Compositions</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40">40</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.—THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,<br> SYMPHONIES.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdl">The Pastorale—Meaning of the Apassionata—Beethoven’s Letter to His<br>
-“Immortal Loved One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—Thinks<br>
-of Writing Operas—Court Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The<br>
-Mass in C, op. 86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio In Prague—Music<br>
-for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Character of<br>
-His Works about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The<br>
-Cello Sonata, op. 69—Improvement in His pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph<br>
-Bonaparte—Vienna fears to lose Him—Contemplated Journey<br>
-to England—The Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His<br>
-Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a>-<a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdl">Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The Battle-Symphony—Its<br>
-Success—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual<br>
-Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The Fidelio Before the<br>
-Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the Object of Universal Attention—Presents<br>
-from Kings—The Liederkreis—Madame von Ertmann—Romulus<br>
-and the Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for<br>
-London—Opinion of the English People—His Missa Solemnis—His<br>
-Own Opinion of it—Its Completion—Characteristics—The Ninth Symphony</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a>-<a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE LAST QUARTETS</td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="tdl">Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The Great<br>
-Concert of May, 1821—Preparation for It—Small Returns—Beethoven<br>
-Appreciated—The Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture<br>
-on B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works—His<br>
-Brother Johann—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration of<br>
-Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the Young Man<br>
-Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The “Magnanimous”<br>
-English—Calls a Clergyman—His Death</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span></p>
-
-<p class="ph2">LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.</p>
-
-<hr class="tiny">
-
-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2>
-
-<p class="ph1">1770-1794</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<div class="hangingindent">
-<p>Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His
-Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears
-in Public at the Age of Seven—Error as to His
-Age—Travels in Holland—Studies the Organ in Vienna—His
-Fame Foretold—His Personal Appearance—Meets
-Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian, Elector
-of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual Training—Madame
-von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and
-Haydn—Compositions written in Vienna.</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ludwig van Beethoven</span> was baptized in
-Bonn on the 17th of December, 1770. We
-know only this the date of his baptism, with
-any certainty, and hence the 17th of December
-is assumed to be his birthday likewise.</p>
-
-<p>His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a
-singer in the chapel of the Elector, in Bonn.
-The family, however, had come originally from
-the Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather
-came to Bonn in 1732 after willfully leaving the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>
-parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
-had attracted attention as a bass singer in the
-church and the theater, and was made director
-of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
-had founded a family, was earning a respectable
-livelihood, and had won for himself the
-personal regard of the community. He did,
-besides, a small business in wines, but this,
-which was only accessory to his calling as a
-musician, contributed to undermine both his
-own happiness and his son’s. His wife, Josepha
-Poll, fell a victim to the vice of intemperance,
-and, in consequence, it at last became
-necessary to confine her in a convent in
-Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
-son inherited the vice of his mother.</p>
-
-<p>“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting
-of wine from a very early age,” says the
-account of his playmates. It was not long before
-this weakness got the upper hand to such
-an extent that his family and home suffered
-greatly. It finally led to his discharge from
-his position. Stephan van Breuning, our own
-Beethoven’s friend in youth, saw him, on one
-occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the
-hands of the police in the public streets.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s
-youth, which put the strength of his
-mind as well as the goodness of his heart to
-the test. For in consequence of the very respectable
-position occupied by his grandfather,
-of his own early appointment as court organist,
-and of the rapid development of his
-talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
-the higher classes, and was employed in the
-capacity of musician in the families of the
-nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
-it happened that he and his two younger
-brothers were obliged to take their intoxicated
-father home, they always performed that
-disagreeable task with the utmost tenderness.
-He was never known to utter a hard or unkind
-word about the man who had made his
-youth so sunless, and he never failed to resent
-it when a third person spoke uncharitably of
-his father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain
-haughtiness, however, which marked his disposition
-as a youth and a man, are traceable to
-these early harsh experiences.</p>
-
-<p>And who knows the complications which
-caused misfortune to get the upper hand here!
-True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>
-was of a volatile and flighty disposition;” but
-even his playmates, when he was a boy, had
-nothing bad to say of his character. Anger
-and stubbornness seem, indeed, to have been
-the inheritance of his Netherland nature; and
-these our hero also displayed to no small extent.
-But while the grandfather had earned a very
-good position for himself, and always so deported
-himself that young Beethoven might take
-him as an example, and loved to speak of him
-as a “man of honor,” his father was never
-more than a singer in the chapel, on a small
-salary. But, notwithstanding his comparatively
-humble social position, he had made a
-mistake in marrying below his station.</p>
-
-<p>Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena
-Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to wife, in 1763.
-She is described as a “pretty and slender
-woman.” She had served as a chambermaid,
-for a time, in some of the families of the great,
-had married young, and was left a widow at the
-age of nineteen. Johann’s marriage to this
-woman was not acceptable to the court <i>capellmeister</i>,
-and so it happened that he was obliged
-to leave the home in which he had thus far
-lived with his lonely father, and move into a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>
-wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn
-street, where his son Ludwig, the subject of
-this sketch, was born.</p>
-
-<p>The young wife brought no property to her
-husband. Several children were born to the
-newly married couple in quick succession. Of
-these, Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766,
-play some part in Beethoven’s life. The growth
-of the family was so rapid that it was not long
-before they felt the burthen of pecuniary
-distress. The grandfather, who was well to
-do, helped them, at first. His stately figure
-in his red coat, with his massive head and “big
-eyes,” remained fixed in the boy Ludwig’s
-memory, although he was only three years of
-age when his grandfather died. The child
-was, indeed, tenderly attached to him. As
-the father’s poverty increased, he made some
-efforts to improve his condition. But they
-were of no avail; for his deportment was only
-“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.”
-He now had recourse to teaching, and obtained
-employment in the theater, for he played the
-violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up
-what was left of his little fortune. Their
-furniture and table ware followed their silver-service<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>
-and linen—“which one might have
-drawn through a ring,”—to the pawn-shop;
-and now the father’s poverty contributed only
-to make him, more and more, the victim of
-his weakness for the cup.</p>
-
-<p>But there was even now one star of hope in
-the dreary firmament of his existence—his son
-Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
-itself in very early childhood, and could not,
-by any possibility, escape the observation of
-the father, who, after all, was himself a “good
-musician.” And, although the father was not
-destined to live to see his son in the zenith of
-his success, it was his son’s talent alone that
-saved the family from ruin and their name
-from oblivion, for with the birth of Beethoven’s
-younger brother, Johann, and of a sister
-who died shortly after, the circumstances of
-the family became still more straightened.
-Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
-and it occurred to the father to train his son
-to be a second little Mozart, and, by traveling
-with him, earn the means of subsistence of
-which the family stood so sorely in need.
-And so the boy was rigidly kept to his lessons
-on the piano and violin. His daily exercises<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>
-on these instruments must have been a severer
-task on him than would seem to be necessary
-in a regular course of musical training.
-He used to be taken from his playing
-with other children to practice, and friends of
-his youth tell us how they saw him standing
-on a stool before the piano and cry while he
-practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called
-into requisition in his education, and the expostulations
-of friends could not dissuade the
-father from such relentless severity. But the
-end was attained. Regular and persevering
-exercise, laid the foundation of a skill in the
-art of music, which led him before the public
-when only seven years of age. On the
-26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
-day of the month on which Beethoven died),
-the father announced, in a paper published in
-Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would
-have the honor to wait on the public with several
-concertos for the piano, when, he flattered
-himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
-audience a rich treat; and this all the
-more since he had been favored with a hearing
-by the whole court, who listened to him with
-the greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>
-the surprise, was made one year younger in this
-announcement than he was in reality; and this
-led Beethoven himself into an error as to his
-age, which he did not discover until he was
-nearly forty.</p>
-
-<p>We need say but little concerning his other
-teachers when a youth. His great school was
-want, which urged him to follow and practice
-his art, so that he might master it, and, with
-its assistance, make his way through the
-world. When Beethoven grew to be eight
-years of age, he had as a teacher, in addition
-to his father, the vocalist Tobias Pfeiffer, for a
-whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven
-family. He was a skillful pianist. Beethoven
-considered him one of the teachers to whom
-he was most indebted, and was subsequently
-instrumental in procuring assistance for him
-from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
-the nature of his instruction, and of the mode
-of living in the family, from the fact, attested by
-Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently happened
-that Pfeiffer, after coming home with
-the father late in the night from the tavern,
-took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him
-at the piano practicing till morning. Yet the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>
-success attendant on this instruction was such,
-even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and
-his teacher, who performed on the flute, played
-variations together, the people in the streets
-stopped and listened to their delightful music.
-In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he
-traveled to Holland with his mother, played
-in the houses of the great, and astonished
-every one by his skill. The profits from this
-journey, however, cannot have been very
-large. When the boy was questioned about
-them, he replied: “The Dutch are a niggardly
-set; I shall never visit Holland again.”</p>
-
-<p>In the meantime, he turned his attention
-also to the study of the organ. Under the
-guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
-neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon
-became so proficient on that instrument, that
-he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
-service. But his principal teachers here
-were the old electoral court organist, van den
-Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
-Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition
-the latter was the first to exercise any real influence
-on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
-years, thanked him for the good advice he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>
-given him—advice which had contributed so
-much to his success in the “divine art.” He
-concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If
-I should turn out some day to be a great man,
-you will have contributed to making me such.”
-Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an
-organist, he had all the characteristics of the
-North German artists; but, on the other hand,
-he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style
-introduced by Ph. E. Bach. He was a
-man of broad general education, and the form
-of his artistic productions was almost faultless.
-Such was young Beethoven’s proficiency at the
-age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was able to
-appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave
-the way for his appointment as court organist.
-We owe to him the first published account of
-Beethoven, and from that account we learn
-that the great foundation of his instruction
-was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,” that
-<i>ne plus ultra</i> of counterpoint and technic. He
-first made a reputation in Vienna by his
-masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
-instruction he had received in composition,
-bore fruit also, and some variations to a march
-and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this
-time in print.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>In the account of Beethoven referred to
-above, and which was written in 1783, Neefe
-said that that young “genius” was deserving
-of support that he might be able to travel,
-and that he would certainly be another Mozart.
-But the development of his genius soon
-took a wider scope. He even, on one occasion,
-when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
-a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the
-best pieces of the age were produced. This was
-at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
-his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily
-greater. We are told that when he became
-court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
-made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the
-key entirely during the performance of divine
-service, by his own bold modulations. True,
-the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius”
-in the future, but he, no less than his <i>capellmeister</i>
-Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
-extraordinary capacity of the young man.</p>
-
-<p>Incidents of this kind may have suggested the
-propriety of giving him the instruction appropriate
-for a really great master of art; and, indeed,
-we find the court organist of Bonn with
-Mozart in Vienna, in the spring of 1787.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>Beethoven’s appearance was not what would
-be called imposing. He was small of stature,
-muscular and awkward, with a short snub
-nose. When he was introduced to Mozart,
-the latter was rather cool in his praise of his
-musical performances, considering them pieces
-learned by heart simply for purposes of parade.
-Beethoven, thereupon requested Mozart
-to give him a subject, that he might try his
-powers of musical improvisation. Charmed
-with the ability displayed in the execution of
-the task thus imposed on his young visitor,
-Mozart exclaimed: “Mark that young man!
-the world will hear of him some day.”
-Beethoven, however, received very little instruction
-from Mozart, who was so deeply engaged,
-just at this time, with the composition
-of his <i>Don Giovanni</i>, and so sorely tried by
-adverse circumstances, that he played very little
-for him, and could give him only a few lessons.
-Besides, Beethoven’s mother was now
-taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks he
-had to return home, where other blows of a
-hard fate awaited him. His kind, good mother,
-was snatched from him by death, and his
-father’s unfortunate weakness for strong drink<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>
-obtained such a mastery over him that he was
-deprived of his position shortly after. The
-duty of supporting his two younger brothers
-was thus imposed on Ludwig, the eldest.</p>
-
-<p>Young Beethoven was thus taught many a
-severe lesson early in life, in the hard school
-of adversity. But his trials were not without
-advantage to him. They gave to his character
-that iron texture which upheld him under
-the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to
-Bonn a misfortune. He there found the very
-advantages which he had gone to seek in the
-musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian
-Francis, Elector of Cologne, the friend and
-patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes
-of the preceding century, who made their
-courts the sanctuary of culture and of art.</p>
-
-<p>Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria
-Theresa. He had received the careful training,
-for which that imperial house was noted,
-and he found in Joseph II an example in
-every way worthy of imitation. He was as
-faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to
-his duties as a ruler, and as adverse to what
-he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
-Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>
-who had left the country in a state
-of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
-endeavored to bring order out of chaos
-and to spread prosperity among his people.
-A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court
-as long as he presided in it. He was still
-young, not much over thirty, and a man of
-the truest principles. Speaking of him as
-“that most humane and best of princes,” a
-contemporary writer says: “People had grown
-accustomed to think of Cologne as a land of
-darkness, but when they came to the Elector’s
-court, they quickly changed their mind.”
-The members of the orchestra of the court
-especially, among whom our young court organist
-is to be reckoned, were, we are told,
-very intelligent, right thinking men, of elegant
-manners and unexceptionable conduct.</p>
-
-<p>The Elector had opened the University in
-1776, and established a public reading-room,
-which he visited with no more ostentation
-than any one else. “All these institutions, as
-I looked upon it, had sworn allegiance to an
-unknown genius of humanity, and, for the
-first time in my life, my mind had a glimmer
-of the meaning and majesty of science,” writes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>
-the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could
-Beethoven have thought differently? He had,
-it is true, devoted himself so exclusively to
-music that he had made very little progress in
-anything else. In the use of figures he always
-found great difficulty, and his spelling was
-worse than could be easily tolerated even in
-his own day, when orthography was a rather
-rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
-French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher
-intellectual culture which, at this time, swept
-through Bonn and influenced him likewise
-through his intimate intercourse with the most
-highly cultivated people of the city, soon lifted
-him to heights unattained by other artists
-and musicians of his century—heights from
-which he continually discerned new fields of
-action. As a consequence of this intercourse
-with the learned, he acquired intellectual tastes
-in various directions, and so seriously occupied
-himself with things intellectual that they became
-a necessity to his nature. He tells us
-himself that, without laying the least claim to
-real learning, it had been his endeavor from
-childhood to acquaint himself with what was
-best and wisest in every age. But these intellectual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>
-leanings did not prevent him from being,
-as the painter Kuegelgen said of himself,
-lovingly devoted to his art. And his own
-beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated
-in Bonn with a greater earnestness and
-devotion than any other.</p>
-
-<p>The writer referred to above, speaking of
-the Elector, says: “Not only did he play himself,
-but he was an enthusiastic lover of music.
-It seemed as if he could never tire of hearing
-it. Whenever he went to a concert, he was
-the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
-And no wonder; for the musical instruction
-given to the children of Maria
-Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music
-in Vienna was at that time at its height.
-That city was the scene of the labors of Gluck,
-Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only
-good music to be heard in the “cabinet” at
-Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished
-pianist, contributed his share to this; and
-we need not be surprised to find him employed
-by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.</p>
-
-<p>But it was not musicians alone who were
-benefited by prince’s patronage. No sooner
-did the condition of the country leave him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>
-the necessary leisure, and the state of its
-finances afford him the necessary means, than
-he turned his best attention to the theater and
-the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian
-Francis had organized an orchestra, and
-our young court organist took a place in it as
-a player of the tenor violin. The violinist,
-Ries, and Simrock, a performer on the French
-horn, were also members of it. Ries and
-Simrock had henceforth much to do with
-Mozart. The following year, a troupe visited
-Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles,
-as well as Gluck’s <i>Alceste and Orpheus</i>.
-They were followed by Grossmann, a person
-of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished
-place in the history of German
-dramatic art. His repertory included the
-plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and
-Goethe, with all of whom Beethoven thus became
-acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
-Francis established a national theater,
-and, dating from this, dramatic poetry and
-music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it
-took its place, in this respect, side by side with
-Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and became
-a school well calculated to foster the great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>
-abilities of Beethoven. In the orchestra we
-find such men as Andreas, Bernhard Romberg
-and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as
-a writer on the theory of music. The latter
-was, at this time, Beethoven’s most intimate
-friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come
-upon the stage, many of whom subsequently
-filled all Germany with their fame. Dramatic
-works of every description appeared. There was
-Martin’s <i>Tree of Diana</i>, Mozart’s <i>Elopement
-from the Seraglio</i>, Salieri’s <i>Grotto of Trophonius</i>,
-Dittersdorf’s <i>Doctor and Apothecary</i>,
-and <i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, Gluck’s <i>Pilgrim
-of Mecca</i>, besides Paisiello’s <i>King Theodore</i>,
-and greatest of all, <i>Don Giovanni</i>. The music
-“pleased connoisseurs;” and <i>Figaro’s Marriage</i>
-greatly charmed both singers and the members
-of the orchestra, who vied with one another
-to do justice to that beautiful opera.
-“The strength of our theater,” says a writer
-of the time, characteristically and simply,
-“lay in our opera.”</p>
-
-<p>This continual contemplation of “characters
-in tone” played a decided part in the
-development of an artist who was destined to
-infuse into instrumental music so much of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>
-poetical and even of dramatic life. We are
-informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating
-character in the language of music was so
-great, even at this time, that when improvising,
-which he was very fond of doing, he was
-frequently asked “to describe the character of
-some well-known person.” One distinguishing
-peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a
-marked influence in the development of the
-great symphonist of the future, Beethoven.
-We refer to what has been called “the accurate
-observation of musical light and shade, or
-of the <i>forte</i> and <i>piano</i>.” This musical peculiarity
-was introduced into the Bonn orchestra
-by a former <i>capellmeister</i>, Mattioli, “a man
-full of fire and refined feeling,” who had
-learned orchestral accentuation and declamation
-from Gluck, and whose musical enthusiasm
-caused him to be considered the superior
-of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such
-a part in Mozart’s life, and who had originated
-this mode of musical delivery in Germany.
-He was succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under
-whose energetic leadership the Bonn orchestra
-reached its highest point of perfection. In
-the autumn of 1791, we find that entire orchestra<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>
-in Mergentheim, the seat of the German
-order of which Maximilian Francis was
-Grand Master; and we have an account of it
-from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear
-idea of Beethoven’s life as a student.</p>
-
-<p>Our informant tells us, in the first place,
-that he was very much impressed by an octet
-of wind instruments. All eight players were,
-he says, masters who had reached a high degree
-of truth and perfection, especially in the
-sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one
-of Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How
-Ries infused life and spirit into all by his sure
-and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What
-once could be heard only in Mannheim, we
-are told, was now heard here—the close observance
-of the <i>piano</i> and the <i>forte</i> and the
-<i>rinforzando</i>, the swell and gradual growth of
-tone, followed by the dropping of the same
-from the utmost intensity to the merest breath.
-Bernhard Romberg’s playing is lauded for
-“perfection of expression and its fine shades
-of feeling which appeal to the heart;” his
-cousin Andreas’s for “taste in delivery,” and
-the true art of his “musical painting.” Can
-we wonder that Beethoven’s emulation of, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>
-struggling for the mastery with such men
-contributed constantly to develop his genius?
-He is praised for the peculiar expression of
-his playing, and above all for the speaking,
-significant, expressive character of his fancy.
-Our informant says, in closing his account: “I
-found him wanting in nothing which goes to
-make the great artist. All the superior performers
-of this orchestra are his admirers.
-They are all ears when he plays, but the man
-himself is exceedingly modest and without
-pretension of any kind.”</p>
-
-<p>We have now seen what was Beethoven’s
-technical training both by practice and example,
-on the organ and the piano, in the theater
-and the orchestra, and how all these were
-to him a school of musical composition; for
-the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with
-Mozart and Haydn as we of to-day are with
-Beethoven. How thoroughly he comprehended
-and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested
-by what he once said to John Cramer,
-the only piano player to whom Beethoven himself
-applied terms of high praise. The two
-were walking, in 1799, in the park in Vienna,
-listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>
-“Cramer! Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed,
-when he heard the simple and beautiful theme
-near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish
-anything like that.” “What a modest
-man!” was the reply. This leads us to
-say something of the few beautiful, purely
-human gifts which were the fruit Beethoven
-enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.</p>
-
-<p>In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with
-her four children, who were only a little
-younger than our court organist. Beethoven
-and one of the sons, Stephan, received instruction
-in music from Ries, and were thus thrown
-together. But it was not long before our
-young artist himself was called upon to teach
-the piano in the family of Madame von
-Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his
-good mother had succumbed to her many sufferings
-and sorrows, we learn from the first
-letter of his that has come down to us. We
-there read: “She was so good and amiable a
-mother to me! She was my best friend. O,
-who was happier than I while I could yet
-pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
-was once some one to hear me when I said
-‘mother!’ But to whom can I address that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>
-name now? Only to the silent pictures of
-her which my fancy paints.” But Madame
-von Breuning became a second mother to him;
-and what her home was, we are informed by
-Doctor Wegeler, afterwards husband of
-Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore,
-for a time one of Beethoven’s pupils. He
-writes: “Her home was pervaded by an
-atmosphere of unconstrained refinement, spite
-of an occasional outburst of the petulance of
-youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early
-to the writing of little poems. Stephan did the
-same thing at a much later date, and successfully.
-The useful and agreeable were found combined
-in the little social entertainments of
-family friends. It was not long before
-Beethoven was treated as one of the children.
-He spent the greater part of the day in Madame
-Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the
-night. He felt at home in the family, and everything
-about him contributed to cheer him and
-to develop his mind.” When it is known, on
-the authority of the same Doctor Wegeler,
-that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
-that Beethoven first became acquainted with
-German literature, that there he received his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>
-first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to estimate
-the value to him of the friendship of
-the Breuning family—a friendship which was
-never interrupted for a moment during his
-long life.</p>
-
-<p>It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse
-with the Breuning family that he felt
-the first, charming intimations of the tender
-passion. Wegeler makes mention of two
-young ladies, one of whom, a pretty, cheerful
-and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of
-Cologne, was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s.
-She took delight in teasing our young
-musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="first">“Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,</div>
-<div class="verse">Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,</div>
-<div class="verse">Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></div>
-</div></div>
-
-<p>His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections
-was a captain in the Austrian army, by the
-name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823,
-in the written conversations of our deaf master.
-He was just as much taken with the
-sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold),<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>
-but to no purpose. He called his love for her
-a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
-after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes
-about it. What he thought of his acquaintance
-with the Breuning family and
-these two young persons may be inferred from
-the words in which he dedicated the variations
-<i>Se vuol ballare</i>, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore
-Breuning) in 1793: “May this work,”
-he says, “serve to recall the time when I
-spent so many and such happy hours in your
-home.”</p>
-
-<p>Besides the home of the Breunings, in which
-Beethoven was always so welcome, we may
-mention another—that of Count Waldstein, to
-whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The
-count was very friendly to Beethoven. He
-was aware of his genius, and, on that account,
-afforded him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to
-spare the artist’s feelings, this assistance was
-made to have the appearance of coming from
-the Elector. It may be that it was this same
-amiable and art-loving young Austrian who endeavored
-to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the
-one place in the world in which he could receive
-the final touch to his musical education,—Vienna.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>
-The very multitude of Beethoven’s
-ideas, and the height to which his intellect
-had soared, showed him that he was far from
-having reached perfection in the artistic representation
-of those ideas. His readiness of execution
-and his wonderful power of improvisation,
-even now, assured him victory wherever he
-went. But the small number of compositions
-which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is sufficient
-proof that he did not feel sure of himself
-as a composer. And yet he had now reached
-an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
-composer of operas.</p>
-
-<p>In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to
-London, passed through Bonn, and was presented
-to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis,
-in person. He returned in the summer of
-1792, and as Mozart had died in the meantime,
-nothing was more natural than that
-Beethoven should apply to the greatest living
-musician for instruction. The Elector assisted
-him; and we may divine how the young musician’s
-heart must have swelled, now that he
-had entered the real wrestling-place in his
-art, from what, as we stated before, he said to
-his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become a great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>
-man,” etc. But what was there that is not
-expected from such a person? Waldstein
-expressed the “realization of his long contested
-wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s
-album: “By uninterrupted industry, thou
-wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the
-hands of Haydn.” When the wars of the
-Revolution swept over the boundaries of
-France, the excitement produced was great
-and universal. Beethoven was affected only
-by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of
-the grotesque ridiculousness of the <i>sans
-culottes</i> and the blood of the guillotine.
-After a short journey, in November, 1792,
-Vienna afforded him a safe retreat which he
-never afterwards left. It was not long before
-the French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian
-Francis was obliged to flee, and thus
-every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home
-was lost.</p>
-
-<p>It now became imperative that he should
-take care of himself. His two brothers were
-provided for—Karl was a musician and Johann
-an apothecary. They soon followed him
-to Vienna, where it was not long before they
-renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>
-But his own constant endeavor was to be the
-creative artist that, as he became more firmly
-convinced every day, he was born to be. His
-studies under Haydn, then under Schenk, with
-whom the readers of the Life of Mozart are
-familiar from his connection with the opera of
-the <i>Magic Flute</i>, afterwards under the dry-as-dust
-Albrechtsberger, the teacher of counterpoint,
-and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy,
-Salieri—were earnestly and zealously pursued,
-as is evident from what he has left after him.
-But even now his mind was too richly developed
-and his fancy too lofty to learn anything
-except by independent action. Ten of
-Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived
-in Bonn; but, during his first sojourn in
-Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from
-his pen, and we cannot but suppose that the
-germs of many of these last were sown during
-the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We
-conclude this chapter with a list of the works
-here referred to.</p>
-
-<p>Besides his first attempts at musical composition
-already mentioned, a concerto for the
-piano written in 1784, and three quartets for
-the piano written in 1785, which were afterwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>
-made use of in the sonatas op. 2, we
-must add, as certainly dating from this period
-of Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count
-Waldstein (1791), a trio for the piano in E
-flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
-in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this
-op. as Goethe’s <i>Mailied</i>, a part of the Bagatellen
-op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the two
-preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803,
-the variations <i>Vieni Amore</i> (1790), a funeral
-cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790), and
-one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of
-which was submitted to Haydn and which he
-thought a great deal of—both of these latter
-compositions are lost—an allegro and minuet
-for two flutes, a rondino for reed instruments
-and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in
-1796.</p>
-
-<p>In addition to these, there are, in all probability,
-many other compositions which were
-completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn in
-Vienna, and published at a still later date; the
-octet op. 103, after which the quintet op.
-4 was patterned before 1797, the serenade op.
-8, which contained the germ of his nocturne
-op. 42; the Variations op. 66, on <i>Ein Maedchen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>
-oder Weibchen</i>, from the <i>Magic Flute</i>
-(published in 1798); the variations on <i>God
-Save the King</i>, the Romance for the violin, both
-of which appeared in 1805, when Beethoven’s
-brother secretly published much of his music;
-the variation on <i>Se vuol ballare</i> from Mozart’s
-<i>Figaro</i>; the <i>Es War Einmal</i> from Dittersdroff’s
-<i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, the “See He
-Comes,” the Messias, and a theme by Count
-Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797), the <i>Easy
-Sonata</i> in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von
-Breuning; the prelude in F minor (appeared
-in 1805), and the sextet for wind instruments,
-op. 71, which appeared in 1810.</p>
-
-<p>In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point
-to three hundred works which he had composed,
-among them the poetical sonatas of his
-youth. How little of sunshine and leisure
-must there have been in a life which, spite of
-its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
-reaped so little fruit! And even if we
-fix the date when the three trios op. 1, were
-composed in this period, when Beethoven was
-for the first time taught the meaning of the
-world and history, by the stormy movements
-of the last decade of the last century; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>
-admit that the two concertos for the piano
-(op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
-wonderful fantasias with which he charmed
-the hearts and minds of the people of Bonn
-at that time, yet how little did he achieve!
-This fact is the most convincing proof of the
-truth of Beethoven’s own assertion, that fortune
-did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving
-his musical training out of consideration,
-Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
-Seldom was it brightened for any length of
-time by the smiles of joy.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II.</h2>
-
-<p class="ph1">1795-1806.</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<div class="hangingindent">
-<p>Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The
-Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First
-Great Exploits—Plans for Future Work—Decides to Remove
-to the North—New Compositions—His Improvisations—Disappointment
-in North Germany—Prince Louis
-Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His
-Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The
-Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness
-Again—Thoughts of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning
-of His Music—His “Will”—Disappointment—Meaning
-of the Eroica and Fidelio—The Lenore Overture—Other
-Compositions.</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">The</span> golden age of music in Vienna had not
-passed away when Beethoven came to that
-city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility,
-and a great many circles of the cultured found
-in music the very soul of their intellectual life
-and of a nobler existence. A consequence of
-this was that more attention was paid to chamber
-music than any other; and we accordingly
-find that the greater number of Beethoven’s
-compositions, written at this period, are of that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>
-style of music. Their very dedications tell us
-much of the social circles of Vienna, and of
-the persons who graced them.</p>
-
-<p>First of all, we have the three trios op. 1,
-dedicated to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.
-The man who had been the pupil and friend
-of Mozart might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute
-found so soon for that departed genius.
-A quartet consisting of the able artists
-Schuppanzigh, Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played
-at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler informs
-us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with
-the Prince, who, at a later date, paid him a
-salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
-on <i>Seht er Kommt</i>, (See he comes) 1797,
-were dedicated to his consort, the Princess
-Christiane, <i>nee</i> Thun. She prized Beethoven
-very highly, and, as he once said of her himself,
-would have liked to encase him in glass,
-that he might be screened from the defiling
-breath and touch of the unworthy. The first
-three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
-and they introduce us to his special patron,
-the Prince Esterhazy, with whom Beethoven
-was not very intimate, although the commission
-to write the mass op. 86 was given by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>
-Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
-well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24
-(1800), and the string quintet op. 29 (1801),
-are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much
-in Beethoven’s life to show that he was on
-terms of close friendship with this rich “merchant.”
-The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated
-to Countess Keglevics. The first concerto,
-which was finished in 1794, is dedicated to the
-same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi.
-The trios op. 9, as well as the brilliant
-sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
-to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven
-himself called <i>le premier Mecene de sa muse</i>,
-and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort.
-To the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the
-trio op. 11, composed the same year, and the
-sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers
-in Vienna.</p>
-
-<p>How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky
-is evidenced by the dedication to him of
-op. 14, the <i>Pathetique</i> (1799). In it we
-find the earliest expression of Beethoven’s
-view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
-innermost nature, calling to him to live a
-higher life. To Lichnowsky, likewise, was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>
-dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful
-funeral march (1802). The two lovely sonatas
-op. 14 of the year 1799, as well as the sonata
-for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to
-the Countess Braun, whose husband gave
-Beethoven, some years after, the commission
-for the <i>Fidelio</i>; and the quintet op. 16 which
-was finished in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg.
-When we connect the name of Prince
-Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed
-in 1797-1800; that of Baron von
-Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord
-with the first symphony op. 21 (1800),
-that of the learned von Sonnenfels with the so-called
-pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see
-the force of the remark made by J. F.
-Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
-period loved and appreciated music better probably
-than any other in the history of the
-world. That they did not continue to do so
-is due entirely to the fact of the general disturbance
-of their pecuniary circumstances consequent
-on the wars which came to an end
-only in 1815, and which diminished their favorable
-influence on the cultivation of the art of
-music. But our artist had all the advantages<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>
-of this noble patronage. He spared no pains
-nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his mind
-could not rest in the mere enjoyment of
-music. It sought other and higher spheres.
-His art was destined to absorb into itself the
-whole world of culture, to take an active part
-in the march of history and co-operate in giving
-expression to the ideas of life. The first
-real exploits of our artist were the <i>Eroica</i> and
-the <i>Fidelio</i> with the Leonore overture; but
-the path which led to them was one on which
-those immediately surrounding him could not
-very well follow him, and one which subsequently
-isolated him personally more and more
-from his fellow men.</p>
-
-<p>It was an ill-defined longing for this starry
-path of a higher intellectual existence which
-brought him to the north of Germany, to
-Berlin, after he had finished the principal
-parts of the course in music under Haydn,
-Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he
-did not meet with recognition and remuneration
-in his new home. But, after all, the
-recognition and remuneration he met with
-there were such as a virtuoso might expect.
-For the present, neither the public nor music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>
-publishers would have much to do with his
-compositions. Writing to Schiller’s wife, the
-young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of
-him: “So far as my acquaintance with him
-goes, he is made for the great and the sublime.
-Haydn has said that he would give him great
-operas, and soon be compelled himself to stop
-composing.” He informs her, at the same
-time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s
-Hymn to Joy—<i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—to
-music. We thus see that he, even
-now, harbored those great ideas which engaged
-him at the close of his labors, in the composition
-of the Ninth Symphony. There were as
-yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of
-the intellectual awakening to which Germany
-is indebted for its earliest classical literature,
-and the period of its great thinkers in the west
-and the north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s
-own mind was too full of the “storm and
-stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful
-harmony and the warmth which had made
-such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
-in South-German Austria. But in the
-North, the memory of “old Fritz” still lived;
-there the stern rule of mind and conscience,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>
-generated by Protestantism, still prevailed,
-while the firm frame-work of his own art, the
-counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first
-father of harmony,” as he calls him himself,
-was there preserved, apparently, in its full
-strength. In addition to all this, the court
-there was fond of music, and King Frederick
-William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
-the greatest master of his time, in Berlin;
-while Beethoven, since the Elector’s flight
-from Bonn, had no further prospects in his
-home on the Rhine. He, therefore, decided
-to remove to the North.</p>
-
-<p>We find him on his journey thither at the
-beginning of 1796. “My music secures me
-friends and regard—what more do I want?”
-he writes from Prague to his brother Johann,
-who, in the meantime, had entered into the
-employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He
-here composed the aria <i>Ah Perfido</i> (op. 65).
-On his way to Berlin he passed through
-Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these
-two cities, we have no information. The king
-received him very graciously; he played a
-few times at court and composed the sonatas
-for cello, op. 5, because the king himself played<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>
-the violincello. The very first impression received
-by Beethoven seems to have been decisive.
-K. Czerny, to whom he taught the
-piano, tells us something from his own recollection
-and observation about him, which is
-very characteristic of the man, and shows how
-sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent
-expectations in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation
-was very brilliant, astonishing in
-the highest degree.... No matter in what
-society he was thrown, he made such an impression
-on all his hearers that it frequently
-happened that not a dry eye was to be seen,
-while many broke into sobs. There was something
-wonderful in his expression, besides the
-beauty and originality of his ideas, and the
-highly intellectual way he had of presenting
-them. When he had finished an improvisation
-of this kind he could break out into a fit
-of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers on the
-emotions he had excited. At times he even felt
-injured by those signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’
-he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled children?’
-and for that reason alone he once declined
-an invitation extended to him by the
-king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
-kind.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment
-of a very peculiar kind here. Instead of the
-manliness of character which he, coming from
-the softer South, expected to find in the North,
-he was confronted with a voluptuous luxury
-to which his art was only a handmaid, and
-with an apparent surfeit of music, the natural
-outgrowth of the French influence due to Voltaire’s
-residence in Berlin. Such was not the
-spirit of the new era which animated himself,
-and for the operation of which he was seeking a
-proper theater of action. The king himself
-did all in his power to make Gluck and
-Mozart settle in Berlin, and Handel’s oratorios
-were played even at the court concerts. But
-how could a man like Beethoven have worked
-side by side with the ruling leaders in music—with
-a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person
-in Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man,
-in the full sense of the word, was Prince Louis
-Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked
-of the prince’s playing that “it was
-not kingly or princely, but only that of a good
-piano player.” But it is probable that from
-the prince he borrowed the chivalric and, at
-the same time, poetico-enthusiastic character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>
-found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was
-finished in 1800 and dedicated to the prince,
-“the most human of human beings.”</p>
-
-<p>He played twice in the Singing Academy
-before its conductor, Fasch, and his successor,
-Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he
-again brought the tears to the eyes of his
-hearers. But he clearly saw from the example
-of these two principal representatives of
-the more serious taste for music in Berlin, that
-it was not Bach’s spirit which he was in search
-of that ruled there, but only a caricature of
-it; and this last was by no means a counterpoise
-to the Italian style of music, which still
-held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna
-disappointed in every respect, but with all the
-greater confidence in himself. He never again
-left Austria for good. It became the scene of
-his grandest achievements, and it was not long
-before their history began.</p>
-
-<p>In a small memorandum book used by
-Beethoven on his journey from Bonn to
-Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take
-courage. Spite of all physical weakness, my
-mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
-year, and must now be all that I can be.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>
-Nothing must be left undone.” The father
-always represented Beethoven to be younger
-than he really was. Even in 1810, the son
-would not admit that he was forty years of age.
-The words quoted above must, therefore, have
-been written in the winter of 1796 or 1797;
-and this fact invests them with a greater significance
-than they would otherwise possess;
-for our artist now saw that, without the shadow
-of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
-abiding places; and he, therefore, strained
-every nerve, regardless of what the consequences
-might be, “to be a great man sometime;”
-that is, to accomplish something really good in
-music. This regardlessness of consequences
-manifested itself especially in the little care he
-seemed to take of his physical well-being. A
-friend, who had every opportunity to observe
-him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that
-“in the summer of 1796, he came home
-almost overpowered by the heat, tore open the
-doors and windows of the house, took off his
-coat and vest and seated himself at an open
-window to cool himself. The consequence of
-his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which
-ultimately settled on the organs of hearing.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>
-From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
-It is possible that the first symptoms
-of his deafness did not appear as early as
-1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into
-the last decade of the last century, that it was
-brought about by heedlessness of his health, and
-that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
-His genius was so absorbed in his music,
-that he too frequently forgot to take care of the
-physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan
-von Breuning remarked of him, that “his
-travels had contributed to mature his character;
-that he was a better judge of men, and
-had learned to appreciate the value, but, at the
-same time, the rarity of good friends.” The
-hard trials of life had added to the earnestness
-of his disposition, and he was awakening to a
-full sense of what his own duty in this world
-was. This leads us to the first great and memorable
-work of his genius—to the <i>Eroica</i>, followed
-soon after by the symphony in C minor.</p>
-
-<p>When, in the year 1806, one of his friends
-informed Beethoven of Napoleon’s victory at
-Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
-understand the art of war as well as I do the
-art of music. If I did I certainly would conquer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>
-him.” These words express a rivalry
-almost personal in its nature, and could have
-been spoken only by a fool or by a man of
-power not unlike that of Napoleon himself.
-And, indeed, leaving out of consideration men
-of genius like Goethe and Schiller, whose
-fame had been long established on a firm
-foundation, there were among his contemporaries
-men of sovereign ambition, only one
-person, Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any
-great impression on a man who had chosen
-for his motto: “Power is the moral code of
-men who distinguish themselves above others;
-and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
-brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by
-the General of the glorious French Republic,
-who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
-Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the
-throne of Sweden in our day, had participated
-in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
-Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of
-1798. He was young; by his origin he belonged
-to the middle class; he was the representative
-of the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge,
-unconstrained, in personal intercourse
-with whomsoever he pleased.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer,
-to whom Beethoven’s <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op.
-47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
-was very natural that once Bernadotte and
-Kreutzer became acquainted with Beethoven,
-their intercourse with him and their friendship
-for him, should have been more than
-usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was sincerely
-devoted to Napoleon, and who must
-have felt himself drawn still more closely to
-Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
-general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating
-the exploits of his hero by a symphony.
-Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler,
-in 1823, and his account is corroborated
-by other facts, that such was the first impulse
-to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.</p>
-
-<p>But the advocate of power was destined soon
-to swell to the proportions of the hero of intellectual
-courage. “For thus does fate knock
-at the gates.” Beethoven used these words in
-1823, in speaking “with uncontrollable enthusiasm”
-of that wonderful <i>motive</i> at the
-opening of the symphony in C minor. The
-last movement of the work, the fanfare-like
-<i>finale</i>, so expressive of the joy of victory,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>
-shows that he here described a victory indeed,
-the surmounting of the obstacles and darkness
-of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
-consisted only of “the infirmities of the
-body.” The sketches of this movement, however,
-occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18,
-and hence must have been noted down before
-the year 1800! But the fact that the melody
-of the <i>adagio</i> was also found in that sketch
-shows that he was even then as certain of
-mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of the
-presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of
-the sad prospect of a “wretched” and lonely
-future—a prospect which stirred him to the
-very depths of his soul.</p>
-
-<p>But it was years before these <i>motives</i> took
-shape in his mind. To do justice to the great
-ideas to which they give expression, to the
-heroic victory of power and will over whatever
-opposes them, he had to concentrate and
-strengthen all his powers of mind and heart,
-and to develop his talents by long exercise.
-The portraiture of the struggles and of the
-artistic creations of the next succeeding years
-constitutes the transition to those first great
-heroic deeds—a transition which must be understood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>
-by all who would understand Beethoven’s
-music.</p>
-
-<p>The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven,
-at the close of the last century, outgeneraled
-all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time in
-Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph
-over the renowned pianist Woelffl, in
-1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But
-he did still more towards achieving success by
-his works. His numerous variations won over
-to him many a fair player of the piano, while
-his <i>Adelaide</i>, which appeared in 1797, gained
-for him the hearts of all persons of fine feeling;
-so that Wegeler may have told the simple
-truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never,
-at least so long as I lived in Vienna (1794-96),
-without a love affair; and he occasionally made
-a conquest which it would have been very hard,
-if not impossible, for many a handsome Adonis
-to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked
-man, with the piercing eyes, was possessed
-of a power and beauty more attractive than
-any mere physical charms. And then, there
-was the charm of his sonatas: op. 7, with the
-funeral song in <i>adagio</i>, which he is said to
-have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>
-of op. 10, with its genuine masculine
-profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
-with the mysterious struggle in the <i>allegretto</i>
-in No. II., and the brilliant exultation of victory
-in the <i>allegro</i> in No. III., the tragic song of
-the <i>largo</i>, the gentle grace of the minuet—here
-used exceptionally in the place of the <i>scherzo</i>,
-as we find it already in op. 1; and, last of all,
-the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
-<i>finale</i>. And yet these were followed by the
-<i>Pathetique</i>, with its exquisite and enrapturing
-<i>adagio</i>, and the two beautiful love songs, op.
-14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he
-offered to a society of friends of his art, true
-songs of the soul and pictures of life overflowing;
-by the <i>adagio</i> of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet
-grave scene; by the <i>adagio</i> of No.
-VI., descriptive of the melancholy which, even
-now, began to gather its dark clouds about
-Beethoven himself, whose breast was so well
-attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
-20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21),
-sketched after the style of Haydn, but painted
-with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in
-what we may call Beethoven’s older life, which
-closed with the eighteenth century. The beginning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>
-of the nineteenth opened a new world
-to our artist.</p>
-
-<p>The new world thus opened to Beethoven,
-and the manner in which he himself conceived
-it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
-verses:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="first">“Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige</div>
-<div class="verse">Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,</div>
-<div class="verse">In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!</div>
-<div class="verse">Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,</div>
-<div class="verse">Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,</div>
-<div class="verse">Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.</div>
-<div class="verse">Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,</div>
-<div class="verse">Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,</div>
-<div class="verse">Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”</div>
-</div></div>
-
-<p>And now began for Beethoven a period of
-severe trials, brought upon him by himself.
-Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient
-care of his physical health. His trouble
-with his hearing was increasing, but he paid no
-attention to it. His carelessness in this regard
-reduced him to a condition in which he
-would have found no alleviation and no joy,
-were it not for the inexhaustible resources he
-possessed within himself.</p>
-
-<p>But to understand him fully, we must read
-what he wrote himself, in June, 1801, to the
-“best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>
-Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before.
-He says:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He
-is in conflict with nature and with God. Many and
-many a time have I cursed Him because He has made
-His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
-nature, and this to such an extent that what promises
-to be best and most beautiful in life, is destroyed.
-You must know that what was most precious to me,
-my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How sad
-my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved
-is gone! How happy would I now be, if I could only
-hear as I used to hear! If I could, I would fly to
-thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My best years
-will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of
-my youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly
-hoped I would. I must now take refuge in the sadness
-of resignation.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>We have here the words to the long-drawn
-funereal tones of a song as we find it at the
-beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor
-(<i>Mondschein</i>) sonata op. 27 No. II, which
-belongs to this period. The direct incentive
-to its composition was Seume’s poem, <i>die Beterin</i>
-in which he gives us a description of a
-daughter praying for her noble father, who has
-been condemned to death. But in this painful
-struggle with self, we also hear the storm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>
-of passion, in words as well as in tones. Beethoven’s
-life at this time was one of sorrow.
-He writes: “I can say that I am living a
-miserable life. I have more than once execrated
-my existence. But if possible I shall
-bid defiance to fate, although there will be, I
-know, moments in my life when I shall be
-God’s most unhappy creature.” The thunders
-of power may be heard in the <i>finale</i> of
-that sonata. When it was published, the following
-year, its dedication ran: <i>Alla damigella
-contessa Giulietta Guicciardi</i>. The
-celebrated Giulietta! Her friendship was,
-indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in Beethoven’s
-“wretched life” at this time. As he
-writes himself in the fall of the year 1801:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about
-among men more than I used to. I am indebted for
-this change for the better to a lovely, charming girl
-who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now
-I have had once more some moments of happiness, and
-for the first time in my life I feel that marriage might
-make one happy. Unfortunately, she does not belong
-to my social circle. But if I cannot get married at
-the present time, I shall have to mix more among
-men.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The family of the imperial counsellor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>
-Count Guicciardi, originally from Modena,
-was one of the families of the higher class with
-whom Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance
-through his art. Guicciardi’s wife
-belonged to the Hungarian family of the
-Brunswicks, who were likewise very friendly
-to Beethoven. We shall yet have something
-to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for
-whom and whose sister, the charming Countess
-Deym, the variations for four hands on <i>Ich
-denke dein</i>, were written in 1800. Countess
-Giulietta was in her sixteenth year, and as
-good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg, a
-musician and composer of ballet music. He
-was, however, in such pecuniary straits that
-Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to
-his assistance through a friend. The young
-girl did not give any serious thought to a
-union with the Count, although he belonged
-to her own social circle. The attractions of
-a genuine love had more charms for her. This
-same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s
-soul. He writes to his friend Wegeler:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was
-I not always a sickly man? But, for a time, my physical
-strength has been increasing more than ever before,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>
-and the same is true of my mental power. With
-every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal
-which I feel, but cannot describe. Thus only can I
-live. No rest! I know of no repose but sleep, and it
-sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time to
-sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half
-freed from my trouble and then, a perfectly mature
-man, I shall come to you and renew our old friendship.
-You must see me as happy as it is given me to be
-here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is
-more than I could bear. I shall struggle manfully
-with fate, and be sure, it will not overcome me entirely.
-O, how beautiful it would be to live life over a
-thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which
-lifted him to the height of joy and of intellectual
-delight, we are indebted for those works
-of his which are models of poetic creation.
-What became of the traditional form of the
-sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song
-the meaning of joy and pain and of their
-wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
-op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which
-looks as if thrown off with a single stroke of
-the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
-of fate in the opening chord; the
-jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment of pleasure;
-the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>
-than realization, when misery
-wrings a cry of pain from him, and he breaks
-out in recitative—a form of art never before
-coupled with an instrument, but which is here
-more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy and
-genius have now transformed the mere
-musician into the artist and the poet. Beethoven,
-as the master of the intellectual
-world of tones, began his career with this
-sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
-his every piece is a psychological picture
-of life. The form of the sonata had now
-fully developed the intellectual germ which in
-it lay. It is no longer mere form, but a finite
-vessel holding an infinite intellectual treasure
-as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
-although retained as usual, are henceforth
-only phases and stages of the development of
-that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a
-drama played in the recesses of a human soul—in
-the soul of a man who is forced to taste,
-while still he laughs in his melancholy, the
-tragic contents of the cup of human life during
-every moment of his existence. For thus
-it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow
-endows him with untrammeled serenity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>
-of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent
-of a higher light. A humor that weeps
-through its smiles is henceforth his.</p>
-
-<p>On this sonata followed a symphony with
-the real Beethoven flavor, the second symphony
-(op. 36). It had its origin in the
-“sublime feeling” which “animated” him in
-the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
-also the brilliant <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op. 47).
-This summer of 1802 is a memorable one in
-Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the
-severest trials of his courage as a man. These
-trials transformed him into a hero, and were
-the incentives to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.
-To this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt
-Will,” which discloses to us the inmost
-depths of Beethoven’s soul.</p>
-
-<p>His physician had ordered him in October,
-1802, to the village of Heiligenstadt, near
-Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
-Beethoven thought that death was not
-far off, and, anxious to justify himself before
-posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you
-men, who think or say that I am malignant,
-obstinate or misanthropic, what an injustice
-you do me! You know not the secret cause of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>
-what you think you see. From childhood up,
-my heart and mind have been bent upon the
-accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever
-moved thereto by the feeling of benevolence.
-To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed.
-But consider that for six—yes, six
-whole years, I have been in a most unfortunate
-condition—a condition which has been made
-worse by the stupidity of my physicians; that
-my hopes, from year to year, of being cured
-have been disappointed, and that at last there
-lies before me the prospect of permanent ill.
-Born with an active and even fiery temperament,
-a lover of the distractions of society, I
-had to live in a state of isolation from all men.
-How humbled I felt when a person standing
-near me could hear a flute that was playing in
-the distance, while I could hear nothing!
-Experiences like this brought me to the very
-verge of despair, and I came very near ending
-my own life. Art alone held me back. It
-seemed to me impossible that I should leave
-the world until I had accomplished all for
-which I felt myself so well fitted. O God,
-thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
-beneficence and love for human kind. O<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>
-you men, when you read this, remember that
-you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate
-rejoice to find one of their number who, spite
-of the obstacles put in his way by nature, did
-all in his power to be admitted into the ranks
-of artists and men worthy of the name.”</p>
-
-<p>And now, too, we find in his music the
-first traces of such appeals to the Godhead. The
-text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
-appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature.
-But, in the domain of religion, our artist had
-not yet risen to his full height. He is still preponderantly
-the musician of life, force and of
-the brilliant play of the intellect; and his compositions
-are still pre-eminently works of art
-and of the fancy. The <i>Eroica</i> (op. 55), which
-was finished in 1803, possessed these characteristics
-in the highest sense of the word. And now
-we may understand what he felt himself, as he
-said in his “Will,” fitted to accomplish, as
-well as the mysterious conversation he had in
-1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which
-he speaks of this period of his life, and of
-Giulietta, who had now long been the Countess
-Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before,
-returned from Naples, where her husband had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>
-acted as director of the theater for years.
-The conversation in question begins thus: It
-was held in the French language—</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven—“She was mine before she was
-her husband’s or Italy’s, and she paid me a
-visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”</p>
-
-<p>Schindler—“By Hercules!”</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven—“If I had parted in that way
-with my strength, as well as my life, what
-would have remained to me for nobler and better
-things?”</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven had said of himself that he
-had something to do in the world besides marrying.
-His ideal was not to live in such
-cramped circumstances. He knew of “nobler
-and better things.” Yet it seems that he offered
-his hand to the “lovely, charming girl”
-in this year 1803, when he began to have a
-prospect of permanently bettering his condition,
-and that Giulietta was not disinclined to
-marry him. But family considerations prevented
-the decisive step; and she was married
-in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg.
-“Despising” her—whether rightly or
-wrongly we have no means of determining,
-but we do know that she was not happy—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span>
-turned to the performance of the
-great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.</p>
-
-<p>Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand
-others, thus proves the truth of the old saying:
-the course of true love never did run smooth.
-In his earlier biographies this episode has been
-treated as a great and even tragic event, because
-that remarkable letter to his “immortal
-love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to
-speak, was erroneously supposed to be addressed
-to Countess Guicciardi and to refer to
-this circumstance in his life. But although
-no more than an episode, Beethoven could
-here have mastered his feelings only by the
-full consciousness he now possessed of the duty
-he owed to his genius. As Liszt says, <i>le genie
-oblige</i>, and Beethoven felt that it was a duty
-genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition
-and even the heartfelt happiness that is
-born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
-wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter:
-“You paint, and I shall compose music. In
-this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps
-live forever.” And that our artist had some
-right to lay claim to such immortality is
-proved not only by his sonatas, which are little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>
-poems in themselves, by his songs and quartets,
-but by mighty and memorable works which
-reflect the world-soul. He was working on
-that grand creation, the <i>Eroica</i>. This sacrifice
-of his feelings may have been, and most
-likely was, forced upon him by the accident
-of the uncertainty of his position in life, but
-that it was not made without a struggle is
-manifest from his expression of contempt for
-Giulietta—<i>mais je la méprisais</i> but still more
-from the ideal of the value of faithful love
-which now became rooted in his soul, and
-which we see reflected in the <i>Fidelio</i>, that
-immediately followed the <i>Eroica</i>, and which
-presents us with the most beautiful of all
-female characters. In its composition, we find
-united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
-in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and
-which he so beautifully embodied in his art.
-On the golden background of his enthusiasm
-for “nobler and better things,” the sweet face
-of Leonore stands out in bold relief as the
-perfect type of human beauty.</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven borrowed the tones of the <i>Eroica</i>
-from the elevating nature of humanitarian
-ideas transferred to the region of public life.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>
-The hero enters, touching with giant hands
-the foundations of human existence, which he
-wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And,
-indeed, the First Consul of the French Republic
-might very well suggest to him, at the beginning
-of this century, how heroes act, the
-jubilation with which nations greet them,
-how great existing institutions oppose their
-progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their
-might. The first movement of the <i>Eroica</i> describes
-the most varied events in the life of
-such a hero with a fullness of episode almost
-destructive of its form. In its climax, the real
-work of the hero is seen; the old order of
-things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces
-in its powerful and terrific syncopations and
-dissonant chords, to make place for a new existence,
-one more worthy of human beings.
-But, at the close of the movement, the victorious
-hero exultingly yokes the new order of
-things to his chariot. This is history, the
-world’s history in tones; and, for its sake, we
-may for the moment shroud the dearest longings
-of the heart in the dark robes of resignation.</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>
-the genius of liberty, at this time
-newly born into the world, and a new factor
-in the history of mankind. He understood,
-too, the tragic fate of all heroes—that they are
-destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
-though God-commissioned, to die, that their
-works may live and prosper. Bonaparte’s
-history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime
-and solemn step of the funeral march;
-for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
-no man had stepped as did he through the
-spaces of the existing order of things. But
-Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far
-beyond the reality that surrounded him. As
-early as 1802, he wrote to the music dealers in
-Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers
-of the <i>Edition Peters</i>: “Away with you all,
-gentlemen! To propose to me to write such a
-sonata! That might have done in the time
-when the Revolution was at fever heat, but now
-that everything has returned to the old beaten
-path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat
-with the Pope, to write such a sonata—away
-with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore, who
-is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom
-mankind weeps in the tones of this funeral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>
-march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
-hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that
-is solemnly borne to the grave to the rhythm of
-this wonderful march—a march which has in
-it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare
-or an Æschylus. Beethoven in this
-march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
-music, and gave evidence of that quality
-of soul which made him indifferent to “the
-slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”</p>
-
-<p>The two last movements of the work do not
-convey so powerful an idea of heroic action.
-Was it that his powers of imagination flagged,
-or that the change in Napoleon’s career made
-him disgusted with the hero? We know that
-when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the
-symphony was finished—the title, proudly
-and characteristically enough bearing only
-two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and
-“Luigi van Beethoven” at the bottom—and
-Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he
-said: “Can it be that he is no more than an
-ordinary man? Now he, like others, will
-trample all human rights under foot, serve
-only his ambition and become a tyrant.” He
-tore the title page in two, threw the work on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>
-the floor and did not again look at it for a long
-time. When it appeared in 1806, it was under
-the name of the <i>Sinfonia Eroica</i>, “composed
-to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
-It was dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who
-purchased it and caused it to be performed before
-Prince Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of
-1804. The Prince was so delighted with it
-that he had it played three times the same
-evening in immediate succession, which was a
-very great satisfaction to Beethoven.</p>
-
-<p>There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental
-fresco painting of a hero who strives
-and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
-to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the
-<i>Fidelio</i>, which made the latter the natural
-successor of the <i>Eroica</i>. Florestan dared
-“boldly to tell the truth,” and this, his entering
-the lists for right and freedom, incites his
-faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
-Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison,
-and, just in the nick of time, casts herself between
-her beloved husband and his murderer.
-Her cry—which has in it much of the heroism
-of death—“kill first his wife,” is a bit of
-history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>
-great, as it is also the most intense dramatic
-representation, in tones, of the full energy of a
-woman’s love.</p>
-
-<p>In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote:
-“I have composed music of every description,
-except operas and church music.” But even,
-a short time before this, he had something to
-do with the theater. He had written the ballet
-<i>Prometheus</i>, which represents in a sense, the
-history of the creation of man in choreographic
-pictures. The success of this work
-determined Schikaneder, well known to the
-readers of the life of Mozart, and who, at this
-time, had the direction of the newly-built
-theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a
-large annual stipend. When this man, Schikaneder,
-in the same spring of 1803, saw that
-the oratorio <i>Christus am Oelberge</i> (Christ on
-the Mount of Olives) met with good success,
-although more theatrical than spiritual in its
-character, he commissioned him to write an
-opera also. The subject was, probably, <i>Alexander</i>—a
-very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
-own heroic style, and his feeling at
-the time. But nothing came of it. There
-can be no doubt, however, that a piece which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>
-he had sketched and intended to make a part
-of it, the duet, <i>O Namenlose Freude</i> (O
-Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the
-<i>Fidelio</i>. Beethoven had received a commission
-to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who
-had taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in
-the year 1804.</p>
-
-<p>At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and
-Cherubini were writing for the Viennese. The
-compositions of the latter met with great success,
-and made a powerful impression on Beethoven.
-In these men he met with foes worthy
-of his steel, and inducements great enough to
-lead him to do his very best. His severe heart
-trials and consequent disappointment had
-taught him how lonely he was in the world.
-Breuning wrote of him in 1804: “You have
-no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable,
-and, I might say, horrible an impression his
-partial loss of hearing has made on him....
-What must be the feelings of one with such a
-violent temper, to meet with such a misfortune!
-And then his reserve, and his distrust frequently
-of his best friend!” A subject like
-that of the <i>Fidelio</i> must, of itself, have taken
-strong hold of a man like Beethoven, because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>
-of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds
-her mortal enemy, Pizarro, spell-bound, with
-the pistol in her hand. What must have most
-affected him here, however, was the ideal background
-of suffering for truth and freedom—for
-Pizarro was a tyrant—and the fact that a
-woman had the power that comes of genuine
-fidelity to avert every danger from her beloved
-husband, even at the risk of her own life.
-And Beethoven endowed the work with his
-exalted and almost transfigured background
-of feeling, by means of his music, which here
-depicts the constitution of his own nature, and
-his whole intellectual build. He accurately
-hits the decisive climax of the conflict, and
-gives to the principal actors so much of real
-personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
-them, and to understand their action
-from their inner feelings. This, in connection
-with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
-of the dramatic characteristics which
-we greet in the <i>Fidelio</i>. The development of
-the operatic form as such is not further carried
-on in this work. In his pure instrumental
-music, even more than in the <i>Fidelio</i>, Beethoven
-has given form to the language of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>
-soul and to the great hidden springs of action
-of the world and human nature.</p>
-
-<p>A period may come when stricter demands
-may be made on dramatic art, and when, as a
-consequence, this work may not have as much
-charm as it has for us, because of its fragmentary
-character. But be this as it may, in some
-of its details it will always appeal irresistibly
-to the finest feeling. We find in it passages
-like those in Beethoven’s improvisation which
-never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
-real happiness. The greater part of this language
-was, like Mozart’s Cantilene, rich in
-soul. Yet melodies like <i>Komm, Hoffnung, lass
-den letzten Stern</i>, <i>In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen</i>
-and <i>O namen, namenlose Freude</i>, are of
-such a character that “humanity will never
-forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish
-food and light at the same time, and, like
-certain forces, produce a greater yield in proportion
-as greater demands are made upon
-them. We frequently find in it expressions
-that are simply inimitable, and when this
-work is contemplated we see that it bears evidence
-of a profundity of soul and of a development
-of mind which separate—<i>toto coelo</i>—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>
-from his predecessors, Mozart not
-excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of the
-deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of
-the web and woof of the human soul itself.
-Such, for instance, are <i>Wir muessen gleich zu
-Werke schreiten</i>, the chorus of prisoners, the
-picture of Florestan’s dungeon, the digging
-of the grave, and above all the thrilling
-<i>Toet’ erst sein Weib!</i> (kill first his wife). But
-the center of all is, as may be seen from the
-innumerable and most refined traits of the
-music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity.
-Her character stirred Beethoven to the very
-depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
-her devotion to freedom were his own. The
-work itself was to be called <i>Leonore</i>, as, indeed,
-the first piano-score was called in 1810.</p>
-
-<p>This work has a meaning in the life of our
-artist himself, greater, almost, than its importance
-as a work of art.</p>
-
-<p>The work required, for its completion, only
-the spring and summer of the year 1805. The
-sketches of it show how carefully the file was
-used on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic
-devotion was able to smelt the ore
-of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>
-which make up the matter of the whole; but
-this it could not do here fully enough to produce
-that natural flow which dramatic taste
-even now demanded. Moreover, the storm of
-war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
-hearers of even the calm of devotion.
-The result was that only the prima donna
-Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the
-character of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as
-a composer of purely instrumental music, had
-not paid sufficient attention to the demands of
-the human voice. On the 13th of October,
-1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after the
-20th the <i>Fidelio</i> was repeated three times;
-not, however, before the art lovers of Vienna,
-but before an audience composed of French
-officers. It was received with little applause,
-and after the first performance the house
-remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the
-work. But even the critics missed in it at this
-time “that certain splendor of originality
-characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our
-artist’s friends now gathered about him to
-induce him to make some abbreviations in the
-opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky.
-Beethoven was never before seen so much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>
-excited, and were it not for the prayers and
-entreaties of the gentle and tender Princess
-Christiane, he would certainly have agreed to
-nothing. He consented at last to drop a few
-numbers, but it took six full hours to induce
-him to do even this. It is easy to explain this
-fact: the work was the pet child of his brain.
-Breuning now re-arranged the libretto. He
-made the acting more vivacious and Beethoven
-shortened the several pieces still more. The
-work proved more acceptable to the public,
-but Beethoven thought himself surrounded
-by a network of intrigue, and, as he had
-agreed only for a share in the profits, he once
-more withdrew the work. We hear no more
-of it until 1814. We shall see what effect its
-production had when we reach that date in
-Beethoven’s life.</p>
-
-<p>But this re-arrangement led to a new overture
-and to a new poetical expression of the
-subject, to the great <i>Leonoren-Overture</i>, known
-as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven,
-in this overture, lets us hear, as if in
-the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
-Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that
-flashes across his mind when he thinks of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>
-Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
-in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of
-her own life for her beloved husband, and in
-the signal of trumpets, the coming of her rescuer;
-the calm joy of the unutterably happy
-husband, as well as the boisterous, stormy joy
-of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
-with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest
-song of praise of freedom and happiness.
-The symphonic poem, <i>Leonore</i>, as a whole, far
-surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together
-with the <i>Eroica</i>, it is the second monumental
-work of Beethoven’s genius in this early
-period of his musical creations, and proves him
-a matured master in his art.</p>
-
-<p>The proud path thus entered on, he never
-left.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the works already mentioned, we
-may, for the sake of completeness, mention the
-following likewise: The <i>Opferlied</i> (1st arrangement),
-<i>Seufzer eines Ungeliebten</i>, variations
-<i>quant’è più bello</i>, about 1795; variations to <i>Nel
-cor più</i> and minuet <i>a la Vigano</i> which appeared
-in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
-for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and
-variations to a Russian dance, in 1797; variations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>
-to a Swiss song and <i>Mich brennt</i>, 1798;
-<i>Gretels Warnung</i>, <i>La partenza</i>, composed in
-1798; variations to the <i>La stessa</i>, <i>Kind, willst
-du</i> and <i>Taendeln und Scherzen</i>, which
-appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed
-in 1799; variations in G major, composed in
-1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
-<i>Bei Maennern</i> which appeared in 1802;
-terzetto op. 116, sonatas for violin, op. 30,
-variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802;
-<i>Glueck der Freundschaft</i>, op. 88 and <i>Zaertliche
-Liebe</i> which appeared in 1803; trio variations
-op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed
-in 1803; three marches op. 45, variations
-to “Rule Brittannia,” and the <i>Wachtelschlag</i>,
-1804; sonata op. 53, together with the
-<i>andante</i> in F major, originally belonging to it,
-the <i>triple concerto</i> op. 56, and the sonata op.
-57, begun in 1804, <i>An die Hoffnung</i>, op. 32 and
-trio op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth
-concerto op. 58, composed in 1805; trio op. 36,
-sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; <i>Empfindungen
-bei Lydiens Untreue</i> belonging
-probably to 1806.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III.</h2>
-
-<p class="ph1">1806-1812.</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR—THE PASTORALE AND
-THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="blockquot">
-<div class="hangingindent">
-<p>The Pastorale—Its Composition—Meaning of the Apassionata—Its
-History—Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved
-One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—New Acquaintances—Thinks
-of Writing Operas—Court-theater
-Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The Mass in C., op.
-86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio in Prague—Music
-for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Power
-Expressed in Beethoven’s Music—Character of His Works
-about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The
-Cello Sonata, op. 69—Other Compositions and their Meaning—Improvement
-in His Pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph
-Bonaparte—Vienna Fears to Lose Him—Contemplated
-Journey to England—The Seventh Symphony—Wagner
-on the Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His
-Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius.</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Beethoven’s</span> Heiligenstadt Will, written
-in the year 1802, closed with this painful appeal:
-“O thou, Providence, let one day more
-of joy dawn on me. How long have I been a
-stranger to the heartfelt echo of true happiness!
-When, when, O God, can I feel it once
-more in the temple of nature and of man.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>
-Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our
-artist’s thoughts were thus directed into channels
-which carried him far from the scenes
-immediately surrounding him into regions of
-a higher existence—of an existence which he
-soon described so exquisitely in the language
-of music. The <i>Pastorale</i> which celebrates this
-“Temple of nature” was originally designated
-as No. 5, and was, therefore, intended to be
-completed before the symphony in C minor.
-But it would seem that Beethoven had to go
-through many an internal conflict, the result
-of his great depression of spirits, before he
-could acquire the calmness of mind necessary
-to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
-God in Nature,” and to give it proper form
-and expression in art.</p>
-
-<p>Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806,
-that the intrigues about the <i>Fidelio</i> were all
-the more disagreeable to Beethoven because
-the fact that it had not been performed reduced
-him to some pecuniary straits, and that it
-would take all the longer time for him to recover,
-as the treatment he had received deprived
-him of a great deal of his love for his
-work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>
-bears the memorandum: “Begun on the 26th
-of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony
-(op. 60), as well as the violin concerto (op.
-61), also belong to this year. In the meantime
-op. 56, which had been begun some time
-previous, the triple concerto, op. 57, called the
-<i>Apassionata</i>, and op. 58, the fourth concerto,
-were all either continued or finished. What
-wealth there is here—in the number of compositions,
-in their magnitude and in their contents!
-The three quartets are dedicated to
-Count Rasumowsky, who had given Beethoven
-the commission to write them, and who had
-furnished the Russian melodies on which they
-are based. How well the <i>adagio</i> of the second
-of them points us to that higher region in
-which Beethoven now felt himself more and
-more at home. He himself told Czerny that
-that <i>adagio</i> suggested itself to him one night,
-when he was contemplating the starry heavens,
-and thinking of the harmony of the spheres.
-In the serene calmness of these vanishing
-tones, we see the revolution of the stars
-mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all
-pain seems lightened, all passion stilled.
-Yet how both had raged even in the <i>Apassionata</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>
-the draft of which is to be found
-immediately following that of the <i>Fidelio</i>.
-The <i>Apassionata</i> is written in his heart-blood.
-Its tones are cries of excitement the
-most painful. It was finished in the summer,
-and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick.
-An oil painting of the count’s sister, Countess
-Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
-after his death. It bore the superscription:
-“To the rare genius, the great artist, the good
-man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
-letter to his “immortal love,” already referred
-to, was addressed to her—and it is truly a
-letter which gives us a pen-picture of Beethoven’s
-condition of mind at that time, and
-which affords an idea of the “gigantic sweep
-of his ideas.” It was found after his death, together
-with other important papers, in an old
-chest, and is dated on July 6, from a watering
-place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
-have been written in the year 1806, in which
-Beethoven paid a visit to the Brunswicks. But,
-be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
-feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt
-on that sublime height on which all earthly
-desires are silent. It seems also to lead us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>
-over to the understanding and appreciation of
-Beethoven’s subsequent creations, which henceforth
-gain an ideal character not of this earth.
-We can here touch only on the principal points
-in these letters.</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he
-begin it on the 6th of July, in the morning. He proceeds:
-“Only a few words to-day, and those in lead-pencil,
-and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
-be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What
-a wretched loss of time for such trifles! Why
-this deep affliction where necessity speaks? How
-can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
-except by limitation of our desires? Can you change
-the fact that you are not entirely mine nor I entirely
-yours? Look out on the beauties of nature, and resign
-yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
-and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your
-case. But you forget too easily that I have to live for
-you as well as for myself. Were we entirely one, you
-would feel the pain there is in this as little as I....
-We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
-to-day what reflections I have made upon my life,
-during the past forty-eight hours. Were our hearts
-always close to one another, I am sure I should make
-no such reflections. My heart is too full to tell you
-much. There are moments when I find that language
-is nothing at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only
-pet, my all, as I am all yours. The gods must direct
-the rest in our lives. Thy faithful</p>
-
-<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ludwig</span>.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>But, on the same dainty little piece of note
-paper, he continues, for the mail had already
-left:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am,
-you are with me. I must try to so arrange it that our
-life may be one. But what, what a life to be thus
-without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men
-which I do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really
-do earn. That a man should humble himself before
-his fellow man, pains me; and when I consider myself
-as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
-they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we
-find the divine in that which is human.... No
-matter how great your love for me, my love for you is
-greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good
-night! Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas,
-that I should be so near and yet so far from you. Is
-not our love a real firmament of heaven? And is it
-not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>He takes up the same piece of paper once
-more:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise
-my thoughts fly to you, dear—to you, immortal love, now
-joyfully, now sadly, waiting to see whether the fates will
-hear our prayer. If I shall live at all, it must be with
-you. I am resolved to wander about far away from
-you, until the time comes when I may fly into your
-arms, and say that I belong to you; until I may send
-my soul absolved by you, dear, into the land of spirits.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>
-Yes, unfortunately it must be so. You will be all the
-more composed, since you know how faithful I am to
-you. Another can never possess my heart—never!
-Why, O God, must a man be so widely separated from
-the object of his love? And yet the life I now live in
-Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
-once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men.
-At my present age, there should be some uniformity
-in my life; but is such a thing possible in my present
-circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
-contemplation of our existence can we gain our object
-and live united. Be patient! love me! How I longed
-and wept for you to-day and yesterday; you, my life,
-my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget the most
-faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine
-and thou forever mine.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>How completely like Beethoven! It was
-during this very summer that he completed
-the <i>Apassionata</i>, which he always considered
-the greatest of his sonatas, at the home of the
-Brunswicks. Can it be said that its language
-is in anything greater than the language of
-this letter? He seems at this time to be nearly
-always possessed by a feeling of melancholy.
-But for this very reason he took refuge more
-than ever in music. It was, indeed, a real
-sanctuary to him, and he refused to open that
-sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of
-all, to the eyes of enemies. This he very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>
-plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
-the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and
-was spending some time in Silesia with the
-prince. The latter desired him to play for
-some French officers who were quartered in his
-castle. A violent scene immediately ensued.
-After it was over, Beethoven left the castle.
-He refused to go back with the prince who had
-followed him, but repaired, post haste, back to
-Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was
-broken to pieces as an expiatory sacrifice. It
-was not long, however, before the old friendship
-of the two was re-established.</p>
-
-<p>In the quartet sketches of this year, we find
-the words: “Just as you can cast yourself here
-into the whirl of society, it is possible to write
-operas spite of all social impediments. Let
-the fact that you do not hear be a mystery no
-longer, even in your music.” This “whirl of
-society” introduces us to some new acquaintances.
-Count Rasumowsky held very brilliant
-soirées, at which the amiable and charming
-wife of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed
-some of Beethoven’s works in an exquisite
-manner. The playing of the elegant
-and handsome Countess Marie Erdoedy, whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>
-Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
-was not inferior to that of Madame
-Bigot. Other patrons of the musical art were
-Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming
-Frankfort lady, and the Malfattis, one of whom
-was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
-Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein,
-daughter of the Augsburg piano-maker, described
-in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll
-a manner, was the rendezvous of lovers of
-music. Nor must we forget to mention Prince
-Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother,
-the Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished
-pupil, who, as our artist himself admitted,
-understood music thoroughly.</p>
-
-<p>The chief value, however, of the works
-quoted above, is that they inform us how
-Beethoven, spite of his experience with the
-<i>Fidelio</i>, was thinking very seriously of the
-writing of “operas.” If successful here, his
-fortune was made, and there was nothing then
-to hinder the crowning of his love by marriage.
-There now seemed to be a very good
-prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807,
-the two court-theaters passed into the hands
-of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>
-their head. Lobkowitz immediately called
-upon Beethoven to act as composer for the
-Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position,
-and bound himself to write at least one
-great opera and operetta each year, and to supply
-whatever other music might be needed. A
-feeling of inexhaustible power must have inspired
-him at this time, when he was actuated
-by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence
-in self. A forcible proof of this is the
-overture which he then wrote to Collins’s <i>Coriolanus</i>.
-But the gentlemen did not accede to
-his wishes; they did not want to trust him as
-composer of instrumental music in this point;
-and thus Beethoven, although not particularly
-pleased by the action of his princely friends,
-was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
-in the field of labor most in harmony
-with his disposition.</p>
-
-<p>“If it be true that genuine strength and a
-fullness of deep feeling characterize the Germans,
-we must say that Beethoven was, above
-all, a German artist. In this, his most recent
-work, we cannot but admire the expressiveness
-and depth of his music, which so grandly
-painted the wild, perturbed mind of <i>Coriolanus</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>
-and the sudden and terrible change in his
-fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.”
-These lines are from an account of a concert
-given in the <i>Augarten</i> by Lichnowsky in the
-spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
-that Beethoven was now engaged on
-the symphony in C minor and on the <i>Pastorale</i>.
-Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a
-large and thriving music business in London,
-and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
-was French at the time, he felt at his ease so
-far as money matters were concerned. He
-writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807:
-“I can now hope to be able, in a few years, to
-maintain the dignity of a real artist.” And
-when, in the same letter, we read the farther
-passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell
-her that I fear that I shall become great
-without a monument, to which she has contributed,”
-we can understand how love, fame
-and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for new
-and mighty exploits in art.</p>
-
-<p>The next work published by Beethoven was
-the Mass in C, op. 86, which Esterhazy gave
-him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
-even more than in opera, missed the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>
-spirit of his subject. The Mass bears witness
-to his intellect, and has all the charms of
-sound; but it is not a religious composition.
-When Beethoven himself wrote to Esterhazy,
-as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that
-it is not without many misgivings that I shall
-send you the Mass, for I know you are accustomed
-to have the inimitable works of the
-great Haydn performed for you,” he proves
-that he did not understand the real spirit of
-church music; for Haydn had, just as little as
-Beethoven, a true conception of what church
-music is. Haydn was now seventy-six years
-old, and Beethoven attended a performance of
-his <i>Creation</i> the following year, and, with a
-number of the distinguished nobility, received
-the celebrated guest at the door. The fame
-of the man whom he was thus called upon to
-honor, was a type of what his own was destined
-one day to be. And what his own fame
-would be, the production of the great works
-he had recently finished, must have enabled
-him to foresee. When the Mass was performed,
-in September, 1807, in Eisenstadt, our
-composer had a personal falling out—the result
-of a misunderstanding—with Mozart’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>
-pupil, Hummel; and one which was not made
-up for for some years. The prince had criticised
-Beethoven’s Mass by asking the strange question:
-“But, my dear Beethoven, what have
-you been doing now?” Hummel could not
-help laughing at this strange mode of criticism.
-Beethoven supposed he was laughing
-at his work; and after this would have nothing
-more to do with the prince.</p>
-
-<p>It was otherwise with the magnanimous,
-noble lover of art, Prince Lobkowitz, one of the
-principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
-principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven
-was indebted for the suggestion that the
-<i>Fidelio</i> should be performed in Prague. For
-the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year,
-1807, the overture, op. 138, which is, therefore,
-to be accounted not the second, but the
-third <i>Leonore</i> overture. The performance of
-the <i>Fidelio</i>, however, did not take place until
-1814, the same year in which it was performed
-in Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it
-was publicly announced that “the gifted Beethoven
-had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s
-Faust to music, as soon as he could find any
-one to prepare it for the stage.” The first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>
-part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a
-“tragedy;” and, as we shall see, the poem
-made a deep impression on our artist. Long
-after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied
-his thoughts. But he had, even now, written
-some Faust music—the symphony in C minor.
-To it we now turn, for it is one of the greatest
-of Beethoven’s creations.</p>
-
-<p>We have seen how Beethoven himself once
-said: “Power is the moral code of men who
-distinguish themselves above others.” And
-so we hear how one person described him as
-“power personified;” how another said of him
-that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through
-his eyes:” and a third, that “his magnificent
-forehead was the seat of majestic, creative
-power.” Spurred on by the opposition of
-“fate,” that is, by what nature had denied him,
-we see this power appear in all its concentration
-and sublimity. The power which has
-created, and which preserves all things, has
-been called “will,” and music, one of its immediate
-phenomena, while the other arts are
-only reflections of that will, and reflect only
-the things of the world. In the first movement
-of the symphony in C minor, we feel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>
-the presence of this power or personal will, to
-an extent greater than in any other work of
-art. It there appears in fullest action, in all
-its nobility. The symphony might not inappropriately
-have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
-for it is a veritable head of Jove, such
-as only a Phidias could have imagined. Melody
-has been described as the history of the
-will illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form
-of the symphony is just such kind of
-melody. And it is this fifth symphony of
-Beethoven’s, which, more than any other, tells
-us the most secret history of that personal
-will, of all its strivings and motions. No
-type in any art, could have suggested a Siegfried
-to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius
-acts as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence
-of the prototype of the Great Spirit.
-Yet when the work was performed in Paris,
-Hector Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say
-of it—and this, although he was deeply moved
-by it—“but such music should not be heard.”
-“Don’t be afraid,” was the reply, “there will
-be little of that kind of music written.” How
-correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
-Siegfried’s <i>Rheinfahrt</i>, in the <i>Goetterdaemmerung</i>,
-is music of “that kind.”</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>But it is only the night of sorrow that gives
-birth to the concentration of power. It is only
-by great effort that this energy can be maintained.
-And as Coriolanus finely presses all the
-darts aimed at him by his mother into her
-own heart, in defying sacrifice, so we find, in
-the background of this holiest and most manly
-will, the consciousness of the variety and
-transitory character of all things. In his
-heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has
-knocked at his door, only because in his following
-the dictates of force and action, he has
-sinned against nature, and that all will is only
-transitoriness and self-deception. The <i>adagio</i>
-expresses subjection to a higher will. The
-consciousness of this highest act of the will,
-to sacrifice one’s self and yet to preserve one’s
-freedom, gave birth to the song of jubilation
-in the <i>finale</i> which tells not of the joy and
-sorrow of one heart only; it lifts the freedom
-which has been praised and sought for into the
-higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony
-in C minor has a significance greater than
-any mere “work of art.” Like the production
-of religious art, it is a representation of those
-secret forces which hold the world together.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>The consciousness of this deeper, intimate
-dependence of all things on one another, is
-henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the
-darkness which gathered around him, and it
-continues to beautify and transfigure his creations.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>Pastorale</i> immediately followed the
-symphony in C minor. It gives expression
-to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
-the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature
-and calm your soul by the contemplation
-of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
-compared with the fifth, is a symphony
-and nothing more—even if it be Beethoven’s—we
-plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
-spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and
-character it illustrates constitutes in Beethoven’s
-life the transition from the external beauty
-of nature to the comprehension of the eternal.
-Over it is written: “Recollections of country
-life,” but also, “More an expression of feeling
-than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved
-the Rhine,” the young playmates of the boy
-Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself
-to Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful
-region in which I first saw the light as plainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>
-and as beautiful as the moment I left you.”
-On a leaf, written in his own hand, we find
-the words: “O the charm of the woods—who
-can express it?” But now that he was compelled
-to live a solitary life, nature became to
-him a mother, sister and sweetheart. He
-looked upon the wonders of nature as into
-living eyes; she calmed him who was naturally
-of such a stormy temperament, and to whom
-life had been unkind in so many ways. In
-the <i>Scene am Bach</i> (Scene by the Brook), the
-waters murmur peace to his soul; and the
-birds by the brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where
-these two symphonies were finished, whisper
-joy. His <i>Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute</i>,
-infuses new courage into the heart, and
-when his <i>Gewitter und Sturm</i>, tells of the
-might of the Eternal, the shepherds express
-their joyful and grateful feelings in the words:
-<i>Herr wir danken dir</i>. The <i>finale</i>, like the
-<i>Chorphantasie</i> (op. 80), planned in 1800 but
-not finished until 1808, was intended to contain
-a chorus expressing in words the joyful
-and thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s
-own personal experience is always expressed
-in his music. A more intimate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>
-acquaintance with nature gave it to him to
-find yet deeper expression for the feelings
-which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting
-change enabled him to conceive the eternal
-and imperishable.</p>
-
-<p>We now turn to a whole series of new and
-brilliant creations of our hero. It would seem
-as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
-had given him new life.</p>
-
-<p>During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy
-with the Malfattis and their two charming
-daughters, was a great source of pleasure to
-him. His feelings towards them may be inferred
-from the following passages in his notes
-to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I
-feel so well when I am with them that they
-seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
-have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect
-to find there in the <i>Wilden Mann</i> in the park,
-no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And
-again: “My greetings, to all who are dear to
-you and to me. How gladly would I add—and
-to whom we are dear???? These points
-of interrogation are becoming, at least in me.”
-Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
-Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>
-Theresa, who made her debut in society
-about this time, and whom he writes of as
-“volatile, taking everything in life lightly”
-but “with so much feeling for all that is beautiful
-and good, and a great talent for music,”
-he sends a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s
-Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s translation of
-Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse
-with the family had that intellectual foundation
-which Beethoven could not dispense with,
-on anything. It would even seem as if, in his
-enthusiasm to put his strength to the test of
-new deeds, even his “eternal loved one”
-should fade from his view.</p>
-
-<p>The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his
-friend Gleichenstein immediately followed the
-<i>Pastorale</i>. The two magnificent trios dedicated
-to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he
-resided at this time, follow as op. 70. The
-first movement of the trio in D major is a
-brilliantly free play of mind and force, while
-the <i>adagio</i> suggests Faust lost in the deep
-contemplation of nature and its mysteries.
-The whole, on account of the mysterious awe
-expressed by this movement has been called by
-musicians the <i>Fledermaustrio</i>, i. e., the bat-trio.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>
-The <i>Leonore</i> is numbered op. 72. It
-was published in 1810. Op. 73, the most
-beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the
-Archduke Rudolph. We have further, op.
-74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
-Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op.
-77, to his friend Brunswick; lastly, the sonata
-in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly valued
-by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister
-Theresa. Verily “new acts” enough, and
-what glorious deeds!</p>
-
-<p>This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed
-a change for the better in Beethoven’s
-pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
-permanent salary. On the 1st of November,
-1808, he wrote to the Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,—whom
-he had visited in the fall of 1806,
-in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave
-him a commission to write a symphony, which
-the count, however, never received—as follows:
-“My circumstances are improving without the
-assistance of people who entertain their friends
-with blows. I have also been called to act as
-<i>capellmeister</i> to the King of Westphalia, and
-perhaps I may obey the call.” The following
-December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>
-programme of which embraced the two new
-symphonies, parts of his Mass, the concerto in
-G minor, and the <i>Chorphantasie</i>. He himself
-improvised at the piano. The attention
-of people far and near was called anew to this
-great and grave master in music, whom the
-sensualist Jerome Bonaparte endeavored to attract
-to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
-anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s
-friends bestirred themselves to keep
-him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to
-stay. This is very evident from the letters to
-Gleichenstein and Erdoedy. Three friends of
-his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote
-one of his greatest works, were instrumental
-in keeping him in Vienna. They were the
-Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and
-Prince Kinsky, to whose wife the six songs, op.
-75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed
-amounted to eight thousand marks. “You
-see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he writes,
-on the 18th of March, 1809, <i>a propos</i> of the
-“decree” which he had received on the 26th
-of February, from the hands of the archduke,
-and which imposed on him no duty but to
-remain in Vienna and Austria, “how honorable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>
-to me my stay here has become.” He
-could not, however, have meant seriously what
-he added immediately after: “The title of imperial
-<i>capellmeister</i> will come to me also;” for
-what use had a man like the Emperor Franz
-for such an “innovator” at his court? The
-dedications of his works mentioned above
-were simply testimonials of gratitude for the
-friendship thus shown him.</p>
-
-<p>He now planned an extensive journey,
-which was to embrace England, and even
-Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now
-you can help me get a wife. If you find a
-pretty one—one who may perhaps lend a sigh
-to my harmonies, do the courting for me.
-But she must be beautiful; I cannot love anything
-that is not beautiful; if I could I should
-fall in love with myself.” The coming war
-interrupted all his plans. But, at the same
-time, it suggested to the imagination of our
-artist, that wonderful picture of the battle of
-forces, the seventh (A major) symphony (op.
-92), which Richard Wagner has called the
-“apotheosis of the dance.” Germany now
-first saw the picture of a genuinely national
-war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>
-foe, and the whole people, from the highest
-noble to the meanest peasant rose up, as
-one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The
-march is, after all, only the dance of war, and
-Beethoven gathered into one picture of instrumentation,
-the glad tramp of warlike hosts,
-the rhythm of trampling steeds, the waving of
-standards and the sound of trumpets, with a
-luminousness such as the world had never
-witnessed before. The poet needs only see the
-eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the vapor
-and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven,
-this joy in the game of war was, as
-the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
-a stimulant to his imagination, which
-now painted a picture of the free play of force
-and of human existence from the material of
-recent historical events. And even in after
-years the timeliness of this work and the
-spirit which called it into existence were evident.
-And, as we shall soon see, it constituted
-the principal part in the musical celebration,
-when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation
-occurred and led to a most decided victory.
-Personally, Beethoven felt himself not inferior
-to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>
-like Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening
-of the national genius which overthrew Napoleon.
-To this second-sight of the prophet,
-possessed by every genuine poet—to this sure
-presentiment of ultimate triumph—our artist
-owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s
-greatest ignominy and subjection he sang of
-the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
-jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the
-Austrians again. But as Beethoven first felt
-the weight and the power of resistance of
-Germany after the battles of Aspern and Wagram,
-he now depicted (after Napoleon had
-taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and
-seemed predestined to become the despot of all
-Europe), in the <i>scherzo</i> and <i>finale</i> of the
-seventh symphony, better than ever before,
-the jubilation of the victorious nation, with all
-its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
-melancholy second part, with its monotonous
-beats on the <i>dominante</i>, we think we
-hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march.
-This exceedingly characteristic theme is found
-at the very beginning of a sketch-book of the
-year 1809.</p>
-
-<p>Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>
-in Vienna and all Austria. The burthen
-of taxation was severely felt. Everything
-was at a standstill. When his beloved pupil,
-the Archduke Rudolph retreated from Vienna
-he wrote the <i>Lebewohl</i> of the sonata op. 81<sup>a</sup>;
-but its <i>finale</i> (<i>die Ankunft</i>) was not written
-until the 30th of January, 1810. The summer
-was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there
-was no demand for the exercise of his genius.
-Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger, Fux
-and Albrechtsberger he prepared the <i>Materiellen
-zum Generalbass</i> (materials for thorough-bass)
-for his noble pupil. This work was
-subsequently but wrongly published under
-the name of <i>Beethoven’s Studien</i>. On the 8th
-of September, a charity concert was given at
-which—to the disgrace of the period, be it
-said, for Napoleon had only just left Schoenbrunn—the
-<i>Eroica</i> was performed, Beethoven
-himself holding the baton. The rest of the
-summer he hoped to spend in some quiet
-corner in the country. He sojourned sometime
-with the Brunswicks in Hungary, and
-composed those works of his genius, op. 77
-and 78. His genius, indeed, seems to have
-awakened to a new life during this fall of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>
-1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh
-symphony (op. 92) contains sketches of the
-8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated
-giving another concert at Christmas,
-at which, of course, only new works
-could be performed. These sketches are followed
-by drafts for a new concerto. On these
-drafts we find the words: <i>Polonaise fuer
-Clavier allein</i>, also <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—“finish
-the overture” and “detached
-periods like princes are beggars, not
-the whole.” He here takes up once more
-those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
-conception of their meaning. They constitute
-the intellectual germ of the <i>finale</i> of the
-ninth symphony. But the melody which he
-actually noted down was elaborated in 1814
-into the overture op. 115 (<i>Zur Namensfeier</i>).</p>
-
-<p>During this period of Germany’s national
-awakening, the theaters had again turned their
-attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of
-this was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas.
-He now desired to give <i>Tell</i> a musical
-dress. He had already received a commission
-of this kind for the <i>Egmont</i>, and, on the occasion
-of his receiving it, he gave expression<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>
-to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny:
-“Schiller’s poems are exceedingly difficult to
-set to music. The composer must be able to
-rise high above the poet. But who can rise
-higher than Schiller? Goethe is much easier.”
-And, indeed, his <i>Egmont</i> overture breathes a
-higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than
-Goethe’s beautiful tragedy. The composition
-of this music led to his more intimate acquaintance
-with the poet. To this same year,
-1810, belong the incomparable songs <i>Kennst
-du das Land</i>, and <i>Herz mein Herz</i>, in op. 75.</p>
-
-<p>This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat
-mysterious point in Beethoven’s life, to his
-<i>Heirathspartie</i> (marriage speculation).</p>
-
-<p>In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall:
-“Do you recollect the condition I am
-in—the condition of Hercules before Queen
-Omphale? Farewell, and never again speak
-of me as the great man, for I never felt either
-the weakness or the strength of human nature
-as I do now.” But writing to Wegeler on the
-second of May, he says: “For a couple of
-years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful
-life. I was carried by force into the
-world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>
-one of the very happiest of men, were it not
-that the demon has taken up his abode in my
-ears. Had I not read somewhere that man
-should not voluntarily take leave of life while
-he is still able to do one good deed, I should
-long have departed hence, and by my own
-act. Life is very beautiful, but, in my case,
-it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the
-certificate of his baptism, and this in a manner
-so urgent that it creates surprise. It was
-three months before the answer to the enigma
-was found, and Breuning wrote that he believed
-that Beethoven’s engagement was
-broken off. But it continues a mystery, even
-to this day, who his choice was. It has been
-surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
-or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing
-certain on this point. True, he had now
-acquired both fame and a position which raised
-him above all fear of want. But she was
-thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
-In addition to this, there was, on his side, a
-relationship of the nature of which we shall
-yet have something to say. Her passion, if
-such there was on her part, must have been
-prudently concealed; and it is certainly remarkable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>
-that, from this time forward, her
-name is not mentioned by Beethoven. However,
-her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
-who is still living, expressly writes: “I never
-heard of any intimate relation nor of any love
-between them, while Beethoven’s profound
-love for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi,
-was a matter of frequent mention.” But
-Giulietta had at this time long been Countess
-Gallenberg. The solution of this mystery,
-accordingly, belongs to the future.</p>
-
-<p>On the other hand, we have a few notes to
-Gleichenstein, who married the younger Malfatti,
-the following year. In one of them we
-read: “You live on still, calm waters—in a
-safe harbor. You do not feel or should not
-feel the distress of the friend who is caught in
-the storm. What will people think of me
-in the planet Venus Urania? How can one
-judge of me who has never seen me? My
-pride is so humbled, that even without being
-ordered to do so, I would travel thither with
-thee.” And, in the other: “The news I
-received from you cast me down again out of
-the regions of happiness. What is the use
-of saying that you would send me word when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>
-there was to be music again? Am I nothing
-more than a musician to you and to others?
-Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find
-a resting-place. Externally, to myself there
-is none. No, friendship and feelings like
-it have only pain for me. Be it so, then.
-Poor Beethoven, there is no external happiness
-for you. You must create your own
-happiness. Only in the ideal world do you
-find friends.” The sketch of that and Klaerchen’s
-song <i>Freudvoll und leidvoll</i> were
-found in the possession of Theresa Malfatti.
-When Gleichenstein was engaged, the feelings
-of the man who had been so bitterly deceived
-overflowed. But how could the young girl of
-eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
-would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died
-unmarried. Theresa Malfatti married, in 1817,
-one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
-intercourse with the family continued.</p>
-
-<p>We next hear of his acquaintance with
-Bettina Brentano which led to his meeting
-Goethe in person.</p>
-
-<p>Her brother Francis had married a Miss
-Birkenstock, of Vienna. Beethoven had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>
-long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
-family. Bettina Brentano herself was
-betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and her
-deep love of music had inspired her with a
-genuine affection for Beethoven. One beautiful
-day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
-of heart, went, in company with her married
-sister, Mrs. Savigny, to Beethoven and met
-with the very best reception. He sang for
-her <i>Kennst du das Land</i>, with a sharp
-and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
-“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are
-touched by something good. But such men
-have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery
-and do not weep.” He escorted her home to
-Brentano’s, and after this they met every day.</p>
-
-<p>Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account
-of the impression made on her by Beethoven’s
-appearance and conversation. Her
-charming letters are to be found in the Cotta
-<i>Beethovenbuch</i>. They show how exalted an
-idea Beethoven had of his own high calling.
-She writes: “He feels himself to be the
-founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
-life of man. He begets the undreamt-of
-and the uncreated. What can such a man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>
-have to do with the world? Sunrise finds
-him at his blessed day’s work, and at sunset he
-is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
-even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor
-or King is as conscious of his power and of
-the fact that all power proceeds from him, as
-is this man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who
-“loved to contemplate and fix in memory
-the picture of real genius,” who well knew
-“that his intellect was even greater than his
-genius, and who frequently throws from himself
-a luminousness like that of lightning, so
-that we can scarcely tell, as we sit in the
-darkness, from what side the day may break,”
-invited him to Carlsbad, whither he was wont
-to go every year.</p>
-
-<p>The two remarkable letters to Bettina of
-the 11th of August, 1810, and the 10th of
-February, 1811, the autographs of which
-have since been found, show us how deeply
-the heart of our artist was stirred by love
-at this time. They are to be found in
-“Beethoven Letters.” A work of his composed
-about this time, the <i>Quartetto serioso</i>, op.
-95, of October, 1810, throws some light on
-this love, and yet it rises far above the pain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>
-and the sorrow of the situation in which he
-found himself. Heavy thunders announce
-Vulcan at work; but in the <i>finale</i>, how Beethoven’s
-giant mind frees itself from itself!
-The noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates
-from the spring of 1811, and, especially in the
-<i>adagio</i>, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
-bliss. But the fact that in this period no other
-compositions were written would go to show the
-influence of bitter experience. It may be,
-however, that the commission he received for
-the plays “The Ruins of Athens” and “King
-Stephen,” took up the best portion of his
-time; and, besides, the two symphonies had to
-be finished. The song <i>An die Geliebte</i> also
-belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
-draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish
-sonata for the violin which was finished in
-1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
-celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up
-the summer of 1811, but they were not put
-upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At
-the same time, an opera was wanted for Vienna.
-It was the “Ruins of Babylon.” He also
-received an invitation to Naples, where Count<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>
-Gallenberg was director of the theater. We
-next find him traveling to Teplitz, a bathing
-place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance
-with Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise
-von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
-maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was
-stopping with Elise. Amalie had a charming
-voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
-endowments as for her beauty of physique.
-Beethoven, spite of his many disappointments,
-was greatly taken with her. Her picture is
-before us. Her eye betokens intellect and
-nobility of soul, and her mouth extreme
-loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to
-Tiedge: “Press the Countess’s hand for me
-very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
-Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is
-looking.” He did not see Goethe on this
-occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following
-year, when his meeting—of which so
-much has been said and written—“with the
-most precious jewel of the German nation,”
-as he called Goethe, when writing to Bettina,
-occurred. We can here give only the principal
-incidents of that event.</p>
-
-<p>The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>
-the Empress of France, the King of Saxony,
-the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great
-many Princes were there. The company already
-in the place was joined by Goethe, the
-jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von
-Arnim, together with his charming wife, Bettina.
-Beethoven himself writes on the 12th
-of August, 1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And
-the poet, writing to Zelter, passes the following judgment
-on Beethoven: “I became acquainted with Beethoven
-in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
-me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed
-character. He is not, indeed, wrong in finding the
-world detestable. Still, his finding it detestable does
-not make it any more enjoyable either to himself or to
-others. But he is very excusable and much to be
-pitied. His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature
-laconic, and this defect is making him doubly so.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>The remarkable incident related in the
-third letter to Bettina, a letter which has been
-widely read and the authenticity of which has
-been much contested—for the original does
-not seem to be extant—Bettina herself describes
-in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau. Goethe,
-she says, who had received many marks
-of attention from the Princes present, was desirous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>
-of testifying his special devotion to the
-Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions”
-signified to Beethoven that he should do
-the same. But Beethoven replied: “What!
-You must not do so. You must let them
-clearly understand what they possess in you;
-for if you do not, they will never find it out.
-I have taken quite a different course.” And
-then he told how his Archduke once sent him
-word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he
-went away. Princes might indeed, he said,
-decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
-make a man a court counsellor, but they could
-never make a Goethe or a Beethoven. To
-such men they owed respect. The whole court
-now came in. Beethoven said to Goethe:
-“Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
-But Goethe left him and stood aside with
-his hat in his hand, while Beethoven, with folded
-arms, went through the midst of them
-and only touched his hat. The court party
-separated to make place for him, and they had
-all a friendly greeting for our artist. He
-stood and waited at the other end for Goethe,
-who bowed profoundly as the court party
-passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>
-waited for you, because I honor and respect
-you, as you deserve, but you have done them
-too much honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven
-ran to them, and told them all that had happened.</p>
-
-<p>That his behavior, on this occasion, was
-not by any means dictated by any over-estimation
-of himself, but by a deep human
-feeling of equality—an equality which the
-artist finds it harder than any one else to assert
-and acquire—the whole course of Beethoven’s
-life, as well as his intercourse with people at
-this bathing place at Teplitz, proves. He
-there found Miss Sebald again. A series of
-very tender notes written to her tells us of his
-heartfelt and good understanding with this
-refined and clever North German lady, who
-made greater allowances for his natural disposition
-than were wont to be made. He
-writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure,
-I shall never possess.” His admission that, for
-five years—that is from 1811,—he had known
-a lady to be united to whom he would have
-esteemed it the greatest happiness he could
-have on earth, was made in this same year.
-But, he added, that was a happiness not to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>
-thought of; union with her was an impossibility,
-a chimera! And yet he closed with
-the words: “It is still as it was the first day
-I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought of
-her from my mind.” He did not know that
-Amalie Sebald had been the wife of a councillor
-of justice named Krause. Again did he
-give vent to his feeling in the songs <i>An die
-ferne Geliebte</i>—“to the distant loved one”—which
-bear the date; “in the month of
-April, 1816.”</p>
-
-<p>This was the last time that Beethoven seriously
-concerned himself about marriage. Fate
-would indeed have it that he should soon become
-a “father,” but without a wife. Yet no
-matter what the personal wishes of our artist
-through the rest of his life may have been, or
-what the wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed
-on a lofty goal; and it was in the ideal world
-that he found his real friends. He finished
-the seventh symphony, and after it the eighth,
-in this fall of 1812. The coquettish <i>allegretto
-scherzando</i> of the latter was suggested by the
-Maelzl metronome invented a short time before,
-and the strange minuet with its proud
-step is a hit at the high court society whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>
-Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times
-of the old regime, when the principle <i>l’état
-c’est moi</i> obtained in society, were passed.
-These works are clearly expressive of the free
-and progressive spirit of a new and better age.
-It was the seventh symphony especially that,
-in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven
-himself the hearts of that age. This symphony
-helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
-by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven
-now entered a new stage of development,
-and rose to his full height as an artist
-and a man. Other works composed by Beethoven
-during this period are the following:
-82 variations (1806-7); <i>In questa tomba</i>
-(1807); <i>Sonatine</i> (op. 79); variations op. 76
-and <i>Lied aus der Ferne</i> (composed 1809);
-<i>Die laute Klage</i> (probably 1809); Sextett op.
-8<sup>b</sup>. <i>Andenken</i>, <i>Sehnsucht</i> by Goethe; <i>Der Liebende</i>,
-<i>Der Juengling in der Fremde</i> (appeared
-in 1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed
-in 1810); Scotch songs (commenced in
-1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811);
-trio in one movement and three <i>equale</i> for
-four trombones, (composed in 1812) the latter
-of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s
-burial.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
-
-<p class="ph1">1813-1823.</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="blockquot">
-<div class="hangingindent">
-<p>Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The
-Battle-Symphony—Its Success—Beethoven’s Own Estimate
-of It—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual
-Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The
-Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the
-Object of Universal Attention—Presents from Kings—Works
-Written in 1814 and 1815—The Liederkreis—Madame
-von Ertmann—His Nephew—Romulus and the
-Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for London—Commission
-from London—Opinion of the English
-People—His Songs—His Missa Solemnis—His Own
-Opinion of It—Its Completion—Characteristics—The
-Ninth Symphony.</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">Resignation</span>, the most absolute and heartfelt
-resignation to thy fate! Thou shouldst
-not live for thyself, but only for others.
-Henceforth there is no happiness for thee, but
-in thy art. O God, grant me strength to
-conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me
-to life.” With this cry of the heart, taken
-<i>verbatim</i> from his diary of 1812, Beethoven
-consecrated himself to the noble task which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>
-after this he never lost sight of—of writing
-“for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal,
-the Infinite.”</p>
-
-<p>The national bankruptcy of Austria did not
-leave Beethoven unaffected. It compelled
-him, besides, to come to the assistance of his
-sick brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore,
-that he felt called upon to undertake, in
-order to provide himself with the mere means
-of subsistence, was the public representation of
-his new compositions. It was not long before
-an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
-an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations
-to the dignity of one of the motive powers of
-the national life of the period. The star of
-Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the
-gigantic struggle begun to bring about the
-overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted
-the sympathy and active participation of our
-artist.</p>
-
-<p>“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain
-as I am! O, what a difference between
-the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
-often! O, horrible circumstances which do
-not suppress my desire to be thrifty, but which
-keep one from being so. O, God! O, God!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>
-look down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let
-this last no longer as it is.” Thus did he write
-in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher,
-interested herself in him in his pecuniary
-embarrassment, which was so great that at one
-time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots
-to leave the house in. He writes: “I do
-not deserve to be in the condition I am—the
-most unfortunate of my life.” The payments
-due him from Kinsky did not come, because
-of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s
-love of music and the theater had greatly embarrassed
-him financially. Even the giving
-of a concert which he contemplated had to be
-abandoned in consequence of the bad times.</p>
-
-<p>The idea of a journey to London now took
-possession of him all the more strongly because
-of the straits to which he was reduced.
-This journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking”
-referred to above. It is deserving
-of special mention here, because to it we are
-indebted for the ninth symphony.</p>
-
-<p>Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had
-built a panharmonicum, and was anxious to
-make the journey to London in company with
-Beethoven. He had had the burning of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>
-Moscow set for his instrument; and he now
-wanted a musical representation of the next
-great event of the time—Wellington’s victory
-at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to Beethoven.
-Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and
-love of England induced him to adopt it, and
-this was the origin of the <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
-(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance
-with Maelzl’s proposition, he elaborated
-what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
-instrumental composition. It was performed
-before a large audience “for the benefit of the
-warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
-And—, irony of fate!—a work which Beethoven
-himself declared to be a “piece of stupidity,”
-took the Viennese by storm, and at a
-bound, made him very popular in Vienna.</p>
-
-<p>It was performed on the 12th of December,
-1813. The applause was unbounded. All
-the best artists of the city were with him.
-Salieri, Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh,
-Mayseder, and even strangers like Meyerbeer,
-assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the
-ideal foundation of the entire production, for
-that symphony was the expression of the
-awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>
-Anton Schindler, of whom we have already
-spoken more than once, and of whom we shall
-have more to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s
-companion, writes: “All hitherto dissenting
-voices, with the exception of a few professors
-of music, finally agreed that he was worthy of
-the laurel crown.” He rightly calls the production
-of this piece one of the most important
-events in Beethoven’s life; for now the portals
-of the temple of fame were opened wide to receive
-him; and if he had had nothing “nobler
-or better” than this to do in life, he certainly
-would never again feel the want of the good
-things of this world.</p>
-
-<p>His next concern was to turn the occasion
-of the moment to advantage, to give some concerts
-with <i>Wellington’s Victory</i>, and thus obtain
-leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins
-of Athens” also were played at these concerts.
-The success of one aria in particular from that
-composition suggested to one of the singers
-of the court-opera the idea of reviving
-the <i>Fidelio</i>. It then received the form in
-which we have it to-day. And what a hold
-the character of Leonore still had on our
-artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>
-dramatic poet, Treitschke, who again tried to
-abridge the text. He had given expression
-to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
-dungeon, in the words:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="first">“Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?</div>
-<div class="indent">Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?</div>
-<div class="verse">Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft</div>
-<div class="indent">Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,</div>
-<div class="verse">Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,</div>
-<div class="verse">Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”</div>
-</div></div>
-
-<p>“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will
-never fade from my memory. Beethoven
-came to me in the evening. He read, ran up
-and down the room, murmured, growled, as
-he usually did instead of singing, and tore
-open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently
-begged him in vain to play. To-day he
-placed the text before him and began playing
-wonderful melodies, which unfortunately no
-charm could preserve. The hour passed.
-Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation.
-Supper was served but he would allow
-no one to disturb him. It grew quite late.
-He then put his arms about me and hurried
-home. A few days after the piece was
-finished.”</p>
-
-<p>At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>
-kingdom is in the air. My soul trills as the
-winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short
-I assure you, the opera will win the crown of
-martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s sorrows
-and victory found expression a second time;
-for now the so-called <i>Fidelio</i> overture (E major)
-was composed. At its performance on the
-23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the
-very first act, enthusiastically called for and
-enthusiastically greeted. The applause increased
-with every succeeding performance.</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven was now one of the best known
-characters in Vienna. He had, even before
-this, given several concerts of his own, and at
-several others music composed by him had
-been performed. His picture by Letronne
-appeared at this time. “It is as natural as
-life,” said Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the
-26th of September, received with his music of
-the <i>Fidelio</i>, the assemblage of monarchs who
-had come to attend the Congress of Vienna;
-and what was more natural than that he
-should now greet them with something new
-in the nature of festal music? He did this
-with the cantata, <i>Der glorreiche Augenblick</i>
-(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>
-of it took place in the ever memorable
-Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814,
-when Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,”
-and what was more, before the educated of
-Europe, by the mere assistance of his art,
-helped celebrate the solemn moment which
-did away with oppression and tyranny and
-marked the beginning of a new and happier
-period. His audience was numbered by
-thousands, and “the respectful absence of all
-loud signs of applause gave the whole the
-character of worship. Every one seemed to
-feel that never again would there be such a
-moment in his life.” This extract is from
-Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places “the
-ecstasy of all present found expression in the
-loudest applause, applause which drowned the
-powerful accompaniment of the composer.”
-The <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i> (battle-symphony) as
-well as the seventh symphony, contributed to
-the achievement of this victory. After it was
-over, he wrote to the archduke: “I am still
-exhausted by fatigue, vexation, pleasure and
-joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering
-impression made on him by those days, we
-must refer to his diary of the following spring,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>
-when all that he had then experienced took a
-definite form in his feelings and consciousness.
-He then writes:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>“May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May
-it be a sanctuary of art.... Let me live, even
-if I have to have recourse to ‘assistance,’ and such
-means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be perfected
-if possible, and then travel! This you owe to
-man and the Almighty. Only thus can you develop
-what is locked up within you. The court of a prince,
-a little orchestra to write music for, and to produce it,
-for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
-Thus may my last years pass away, and to
-future humanity....”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>He breaks off here as if he did not need to
-express an opinion on what he aimed at achieving
-and left after him as an inheritance. But
-the reputation which he had acquired is correctly
-described as “one of the greatest ever
-won by a musician.” And now, more than
-ever before, he was the object of universal
-attention, especially at the brilliant entertainments
-given by the Russian ambassador, count
-Rasumowsky, to the monarchs present, on one
-of which occasions he was presented to them.
-The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a
-special “compliment.” She did so at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>
-palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
-celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher.
-At a court concert on the 25th of January,
-1815, he accompanied the <i>Adelaide</i> for Florestan
-Wild himself; and Schindler closes his
-account of it with the words: “The great
-master recalled those days with much feeling,
-and with a certain pride once said that he
-had made the great pay their court to him,
-and that with them he had always preserved his
-dignity.” He thus verified what, as we saw
-alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
-them clearly understand what they possess in
-you.”</p>
-
-<p>The “assistance” he longed for came in the
-form of presents from monarchs, especially of
-the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of
-Russia, for whom he, at that time, wrote the
-polonaise, op. 89. These presents enabled him
-to make a permanent investment of twenty
-thousand marks, which his friends were very
-much surprised to find he owned, after his
-death. But, although by “decree” he drew
-yearly the sum of 2,700 marks, his principal
-source of income continued to be derived from
-his intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>
-brother Karl died and left him, as an inheritance,
-so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
-after his father—the mother not being a fit
-person to take care of the child, and, besides,
-not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
-struggles for his “son,” <i>the unfortunate
-nephew</i>, with the mother, whom he was wont
-to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
-succeeding years of his life with legal controversies
-and negotiations to such an extent
-that they seem to have hindered him in his
-work. Extreme trouble of mind, brought
-about by the social and political degeneration
-of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon
-entirely obscured the lustre of the days we
-have just described; and it was only for short
-moments of time, as on the occasion of the
-celebrated concert of the year 1824, that we
-see his old pride and fame revive. The works
-performed at that concert were the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>
-and the Ninth Symphony. The former
-was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
-Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a
-reflection of the soul of the artist himself as we
-have heard him describe it above. The symphony
-was written “for London;” whither in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>
-these saddening times his eyes were directed,
-and which, although he never undertook the
-contemplated journey thither, became the incentive
-to the composition of many important
-works.</p>
-
-<p>Among the works which date from 1814
-and 1815, we may mention the sonata, op. 90,
-a “struggle between the head and the heart,”
-addressed in the summer of 1814 to Count
-Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage
-to a Vienna singer; the song <i>Merkenstein</i>
-(op. 100), composed in the winter of
-1814; Tiedge’s <i>Hoffnung</i> (op. 94), composed
-after the last court concert for the singer
-Wild; the chorus <i>Meeresstille und Glueckliche
-Fahrt</i> (op. 112), which was written in 1815,
-and in 1822, “most respectfully dedicated to
-the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the magnificent
-cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess
-Erdoedy, who became reconciled with him once
-more during this winter, after there had been
-a variance between them for a time. He calls
-the first of these sonatas the “free sonata,”
-and, indeed, freedom now became the characteristic
-of his higher artistic pictures. The
-<i>adagio</i> of the second discloses to us, in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>
-choral-like construction of its theme, the prevailing
-religious direction taken by his
-thoughts, which is also apparent in very many
-expressions and quotations to be found in his
-diary.</p>
-
-<p>We have already mentioned the <i>Liederkreis</i>,
-op. 98. Beethoven worked at it and at the
-sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter,
-an expression of the deepest poetry of the
-soul, was ready the following year, and was
-dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear
-Dorothea Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly
-understood the meaning of Beethoven’s
-music, became a real propagandist of his compositions
-for the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn
-could say that he had “learned much” from
-her deeply expressive execution. The noble
-lady had lost her only son during the absence
-of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
-and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition
-of mind bordering on melancholy, by
-coming to her and playing for her until she
-burst into tears. “The spell was broken.”
-“We finite creatures with an infinite mind are
-born only for suffering and for joy; and we
-might almost say that the best of human kind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>
-obtain joy only through their sorrow.” Thus
-spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and
-this little incident confirms its truth. His
-own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
-musical creations, and these creations were to
-him “the dearest gift of heaven,” and, as it
-were, a consolation from on high.</p>
-
-<p>But to continue our biography.</p>
-
-<p>When, after a violent contest with the
-mother, he was made sole guardian of his
-nephew, and could then call him his own, he
-seems, as a lady whose diary is embodied in
-the little book <i>Eine stille Liebe zu Beethoven</i>,
-informs us, to gain new life. He devoted
-himself heart and soul to the boy, and he
-wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
-care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow.
-We can readily understand how it came to
-pass that he now penned the words found by
-the lady just mentioned, in a memorandum
-book of his: “My heart overflows at the
-aspect of the beauties of nature—and this
-without her.” His “distant loved one” was
-still to him the most valued possession of his
-life—more to him, even, than himself.</p>
-
-<p>He had now in view several great projects—among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>
-them an opera, <i>Romulus</i>, by Treitschke,
-and an oratorio for the recently founded “Society
-of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna.
-The latter failed, through the niggardliness of
-the directors, and the former was not finished,
-although our artist never gave up the intention
-of completing it. In the autumn of 1816, an
-English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
-write a symphony, for two hundred ducats.
-But as the general wanted it written in the
-style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself
-refused to accept the commission. Yet this
-narrow English enthusiast had excited Beethoven’s
-imagination with glowing accounts of
-the harvest of profit he might reap in England,
-and as Beethoven had recently sold many of
-his works there, and as, besides, the new
-“Philharmonic Society” had handsomely remunerated
-him for these overtures, his intention
-of crossing the Channel began to assume
-a more definite form. His <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
-(battle-symphony), especially, had already met
-with a very flattering reception in England.
-And a project was on foot in that country, even
-now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
-of his own works; and such a “benefit”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>
-was actually given for him there when he was
-on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it
-would flatter him to be able to write some new
-works, such as symphonies and an oratorio, for
-the Society which embraced a greater number
-of able musicians than almost any other in
-Europe.</p>
-
-<p>His diary covering this period to 1818, published
-in the work <i>Die Beethovenfeier und die
-deutsche Kunst</i>, because of the many items of
-interest it has in it, contains these characteristic
-lines: “Drop operas and everything else.
-Write only in your own style.” But even the
-sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark
-accompanying them: “2. Symphony in
-D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony
-in D minor—3. Symphony.” Belonging to
-the years succeeding 1812, we find drafts of the
-<i>scherzo</i> of the Ninth Symphony. The headings
-above given undoubtedly had reference to this
-last, but the sketches of the first movement,
-decisive of the character of such a work, are
-not to be found until the year 1816, but then
-they are found with the physiognomy so masculine
-and so full of character which distinguishes
-this “symphony for London.” He once said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>
-of Englishmen that they were, for the most
-part, “clever fellows;” and he—of whom
-Zelter wrote to Goethe, that “he must have
-had a man for his mother”—felt that, in England,
-he, as a man, had to do with men, and,
-as an artist, to enter the list with Handel,
-whose own powerful influence was due to his
-decided manfulness of character. And then,
-had not England produced a tragic poet like
-Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all
-others? Deep, tragic earnestness, and a masculine
-struggle with fate, are here the fundamental
-tone and design of the whole. “And
-then a cowl when thou closest thy unhappy
-life”—such is the conclusion of the lines
-quoted above, in which he says that he must
-write “only in his own style.”</p>
-
-<p>And now, in July, 1817, came from London
-the “direct commission” he had so long endeavored
-to obtain. The Society desired
-to send him a proof of their esteem and
-gratitude for the many happy moments his
-works had given them to enjoy, and invited
-him to come to London to write two great
-symphonies, promising him an honorarium of
-three hundred pounds sterling. Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>
-immediately accepted the commission, and
-assured them that he would do his very best
-to execute it—honorable as it was to him, and
-coming as it did from so select a society of
-artists—in the worthiest manner possible.
-He promised to go to work immediately.
-“He believed that he could nowhere receive
-the distinction which his gigantic genius—in
-advance of his age by several centuries—deserved,
-as he could in Great Britain. The
-respect shown him by the English people,
-he valued more than that of all Europe
-besides. The feeling he had of his own
-powers may, indeed, have contributed to make
-him prefer the English nation to all others,
-especially as they showered so many marks of
-distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his
-most intimate friends in Vienna, Baron Von
-Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain it
-is that he did his very best on this work. It,
-as well as the symphony in C minor, is of
-the true Beethoven type—more so, perhaps,
-than any other of his works—the full picture
-of his own personal existence and of the
-tragedy of human life in general. This work
-was followed by the Tenth Symphony, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>
-“poetical idea,” at least, of which we know.
-The first movement was intended to represent
-a “feast of Bacchus,” the <i>adagio</i> a <i>cantique
-ecclesiastique</i>, a church hymn, and the <i>finale</i>
-the reconciliation of the antique world, which
-he esteemed so highly with the spirit of
-Christianity, into the full depth of which he
-came to have a deeper insight every day that
-passed. We see that he had lofty plans, and
-that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights
-than he. We must bear these great plans
-and labors of Beethoven in mind if we would
-rightly understand his subsequent life—if we
-would comprehend how, in the desolate and
-distracted existence he was compelled henceforth
-to lead, he did not become a victim of
-torpidity, but that, on the contrary, the elasticity
-of his genius grew greater and greater,
-and that his creations gained both in depth
-and perfection.</p>
-
-<p>Thus do we see with our own eyes at least
-one of his works born of his own life.</p>
-
-<p>The songs <i>Ruf von Berge</i> and <i>So oder so</i>,
-were composed in the winter of 1816-17; and
-in the following spring, after the sudden death
-of one of his friends, the chorus <i>Rasch tritt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>
-der Tod</i>, from Schiller’s Tell. “O God, help
-me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind.
-O hard fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no,
-my unhappy condition will never end. Thou
-hast no means of salvation but to leave here.
-Only by so doing canst thou rise to the height
-of thy art. Here thou art immersed in vulgarity.
-Only one symphony, and then away,
-away, away!” Thus does he write in his
-diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
-fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great
-sonata for the Hammer-clavier, op. 106. The
-<i>adagio</i> of the latter is the musical expression
-of earnest prayer to God. Its first movement
-shows how he had soared once more to the
-heights of his art. “The sonata was written
-under vexatious circumstances,” he says to his
-friend Ries; and to a younger fellow-artist,
-the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go
-on. There is no calmer, more unalloyed or
-purer joy than that which arises from ascending
-higher and higher into the heaven
-of art.” Such, too, was his mood in those
-days when he promised his friend Zmeskall
-the trio for the piano in C minor, his op. 1,
-worked over into the quintet op. 104; for he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>
-wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave,
-without music, every day.” In keeping with
-this is the song, <i>Lisch aus, mein Licht</i>, “Put
-out my light,” which also belongs to this
-period. The supplication: “O hear me always,
-Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
-unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all
-mortals,” found in his diary, belongs to this
-same time. It is now easy to see that he was
-in a very suitable frame of mind when he
-resolved, in 1818, to write a solemn mass for
-the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
-pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz.
-It was the “little court,” the “little orchestra”
-for which he wished to write the music “for
-the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the
-Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of making
-him his <i>capellmeister</i> there. After four years’
-labor, the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>, op. 123, was finished.
-Beethoven called it “<i>l’œuvre le plus
-accompli</i>, my most finished work.” And, like
-the <i>Fidelio</i>, it is deserving of this characterization,
-but more on account of the pains
-taken with it and the labor expended on it
-than of its matter.</p>
-
-<p>“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>
-life to thy art. O, God above all! For Providence
-eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
-or unhappiness of mortal men.” With
-these words from the Odyssey, he resolved
-to consecrate himself to this great work.
-And it was a resolve in very deed. For, as
-in opera, he knew that he was here bound
-by traditionary forms—forms which, indeed,
-in some details afforded rich food to his own
-thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered
-the natural flow of his fancy. We now
-approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
-which he was strangely secluded from the
-world. The painter, Kloeber, the author of
-the best known portrait of Beethoven, and
-which is to be found in <i>Beethoven’s Brevier</i>—it
-was painted during the summer of 1818—once
-saw him throw himself under a fir
-tree and look for a longtime “up into the
-heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
-conversations—for it was now necessary for him
-to have recourse to putting his conversations
-on paper more frequently on account of his increasing
-deafness—he wrote in the winter of
-1819-20: “Socrates and Jesus were patterns
-to me;” and after that: “The moral law within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>
-us and the starry heavens above us.—Kant!!!”
-Just as on the 4th of March, 1820, he wrote:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="first">“Ernte bald an Gottes Thron</div>
-<div class="verse">Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”</div>
-</div></div>
-
-<p>This was the time of the struggles with the
-mother of his “son” and of the heartfelt sorrow
-he had to endure on account of the moral
-ruin of the poor boy himself, who, always
-going from the one to the other, did not really
-know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore,
-deceived both. “From the heart—may
-it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these
-words on the score of the mass; and Schindler,
-who was now his companion, says that
-“the moment he began this work his whole
-nature seemed to change.” He would sit in
-the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
-to order his meals, and then want to pay for
-them. “Some say he is a fool,” wrote Zelter
-to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us
-“he actually seemed possessed in those days,
-especially when he wrote the fugue and the
-<i>Benedictus</i>.” That fugue, <i>Et vitam senturi</i>
-(life everlasting!) is the climax of the work,
-since the depiction of the imperishableness
-and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>
-powerful mind was most used to.
-The wonderful <i>Benedictus</i>, (Blessed is he who
-cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones
-seem to float down from heaven to earth, the
-bestowal of help from on high, was subsequently
-the model used by Wagner for his
-descent of the Holy Grail, the symbol of divine
-grace, in the prelude to the <i>Lohengrin</i>.
-“When I recall his state of mental excitement,
-I must confess that I never before, and never
-after this period of his complete forgetfulness
-of earth, observed anything like it in him.”
-So says Schindler. They had gone to visit
-him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired
-in the interest of his health, and where he
-loved so well to “wander through the quiet
-forest of firs” and think out his works. It
-was four o’clock in the afternoon. The door
-was closed, and they could hear him “singing,
-howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they
-had listened to this “almost horrible” scene,
-the door opened, and Beethoven stood before
-them, with trouble depicted on his countenance.
-He looked as if he had just gone
-through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
-doings here; everybody is gone, and I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>
-not eaten a morsel since yesterday noon,” he
-said. He had worked the previous evening
-until after midnight; and so the food had
-grown cold and the servants left in disgust.</p>
-
-<p>His work assumed greater and greater dimensions
-as he himself gradually rose to the
-full height of the subject. He no longer
-thought of completing it for the installation
-ceremonies. It became a grand fresco painting—a
-symphony in choruses on the words
-of the mass. He now began to work more
-calmly, and to compose at intervals other
-works, in order to quiet his over-excited mind
-and to earn a living for his “dear” nephew.
-And thus, while he was composing his mass, he
-produced not only the <i>Variirten Themen</i>, op.
-105 and 107, which Thompson, of Edinburg—who
-had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs
-like op. 108 to be arranged—had ordered, but
-also the three <i>Last Sonatas</i>, op. 109, dedicated
-to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to
-whose excellent father he was indebted for
-ready assistance during these years of his
-pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which
-was finished at Christmas, 1821, as op. 111
-was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>
-that he entertained a higher opinion himself
-of these sonatas than of his previous ones.
-They are greatly superior, however, only in
-some of their movements; and they are written
-in the grand, free style of that period, especially
-the <i>arietta</i> in the last opus, the variations
-of which are real pictures of his own
-soul. In the intervals between them, however,
-we find some trifles such as the <i>Bagatellen</i>,
-op. 119, which his pecuniary condition
-made it imperative he should compose, since,
-“as a brave knight by his sword, he had to
-live by his pen.” And even the “<i>33 Veraenderungen</i>”
-(variations), op. 120, on the works
-of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the
-intellectual play of the inexhaustible fancy of
-an artist than the work of the genuine gigantic
-creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly
-possessed. He had overtaxed his strength
-working on the mass, and thus exhausted it
-for a moment. The two chorus-songs, op.
-121<sup>b</sup> and op. 122, the <i>Opferlied</i> and <i>Bundeslied</i>,
-which date from the year 1822-23, bear
-the stamp of occasional compositions, which
-they, in fact, are.</p>
-
-<p>But in the meantime the lion had roused<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>
-himself again. He now only needed to give
-the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the
-spring of 1823 the entire work was completed.
-The summer of 1822 found him fully engaged
-on the composition of that monument
-to his genius, the Ninth Symphony. Freedom
-from the torment of exhausting labor, and the
-entire surrender of himself to “his own style,”
-gave his fancy back its old elasticity and all
-its productive power. Scarcely any year of
-his life was more prolific of works than this
-year 1822.</p>
-
-<p>“Our Beethoven seems again to take a
-greater interest in music, which, since the
-trouble with his hearing began to increase, he
-avoided almost as a woman-hater avoids the
-sex. To the great pleasure of all, he improvised
-a few tunes in a most masterly manner.”
-Thus do we read in the Leipzig <i>Musikzeitung</i>,
-in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
-John Russell, gives us a charming description
-of such an evening in the Cotta <i>Beethovenbuch</i>.
-Weisse’s droll poem, <i>Der Kuss</i> (the kiss) op.
-128, is found among the serious sketches of
-this year. And now he received a whole
-series of commissions. An English captain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>
-named Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and
-Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic poem worthy
-of his art, before he “hung up his harp
-forever.” Others asked for other kinds of
-music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
-Johann, “people are fighting to get works from
-me, happy, unhappy man that I am. If my
-health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
-my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him,
-too, a commission from Breitkopf and Haertel
-to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives
-us a very interesting account of Beethoven’s
-appearance and whole mode of life at this
-time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage
-exterior, he says, not his bushy black
-hair, which hung bristling about his head,
-would have stirred him; what stirred him was
-the whole appearance of the deaf man who,
-notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to
-the hearts of millions—pure, intellectual joy.
-But when he received the commission, he
-raised his hand high up and exclaimed:
-“That might be worth while. But I have
-been intending for some time to write three
-other great works—two great symphonies, very
-different from each other, and an oratorio. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>
-shudder at the thought of beginning works of
-such magnitude. But once engaged on them,
-I shall find no difficulty.” He spoke of the
-Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun
-to give the finishing touches, in all earnestness.</p>
-
-<p>This was interrupted for a short time by
-the overture, <i>Zur Weihe des Hauses</i> (op. 124),
-for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt
-theater with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812.
-It is the portal to the temple in which art is
-praised as something consecrated to the service
-of mankind—as a thing which may lift
-us for blissful moments into the region of the
-purifying and elevating influences of higher
-powers. Even in this work, which dates from
-September, 1822, we may hear the solemn
-sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony.
-And, indeed, after a memorandum on the
-“Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches
-of it the words, “Finale, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,”
-together with the wonderfully simple
-melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s
-better self like the music of its own redemption.
-Beethoven’s own nature was deeply
-moved at this time. Weber’s <i>Freischuetz</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>
-with Wilhelmine Schroeder, afterwards so
-celebrated, had excited the greatest enthusiasm.
-Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like
-an opeotheosis;” and Beethoven was determined
-to let the light of his genius shine forth,
-which he could do only by writing a work
-“in his own style.” The world was “his for
-another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
-that evening to account. And, indeed, had
-he not a world of sorrows to paint—sorrows
-which actual life had brought to him? He
-had also a world of joys—joys vouchsafed to
-him by his surrendering of himself to a higher
-life.</p>
-
-<p>An incident which occurred during this fall
-of 1822 tells us something of this gloomy night
-of his personal existence. Young Schroeder-Devrient,
-encouraged by her success with
-<i>Pamina</i> and <i>Agathe</i>, had chosen the <i>Fidelio</i>
-for her benefit, and Beethoven himself was to
-wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even
-during the first scene of the opera, everything
-was in confusion, but that no one cared to
-utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible
-for you, unfortunate man.” Schindler finally,
-in response to Beethoven’s own questioning,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>
-wrote something to that effect down. In a
-trice, Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying
-only: “Quick, out of here!” He ran
-without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself
-on the sofa, covered his face with his two
-hands, and remained in that position until
-called to table. But, even at table, he did not
-utter a word. He sat at it, the picture of the
-deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account of
-the incident closes thus: “In all my experience
-with Beethoven, this November day is
-without a parallel. It mattered not what disappointments
-or crosses misfortune brought
-him, he was ill-humored only for moments,
-sometimes depressed. He would, however,
-soon be himself again, lift his head proudly,
-walk about with a firm step, and rule in the
-workshop of his genius. But he never fully
-recovered from the effect of this blow.”</p>
-
-<p>The performance itself brought out, for
-the first time, in all its completeness, musico-dramatic
-art, in the representation of the
-scene, “Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner,
-who has so highly developed this musico-dramatic
-art, admits that he acquired the real
-idea of plastic shaping for the stage from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>
-Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
-owed it that he was invited, during the same
-winter (1822-23), to compose a new opera. It
-was Grillparzer’s <i>Melusine</i>, but the intention
-to compose it was never carried into effect.</p>
-
-<p>We have now reached the zenith of the
-life of Beethoven as an artist. Besides the
-Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five
-last quartets which beam in their numerous
-movements like “the choir of stars about the
-sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition
-of these last came to him just at this time
-from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
-him a commission to write them, telling him
-at the same time to ask what remuneration he
-wished for his work. But the Symphony filled
-up the next following year, 1823. Nothing
-else, except the “fragmentary ideas” of the
-<i>Bagatellen</i>, op. 126, engaged him during that
-time.</p>
-
-<p>“To give artistic form only to what we
-wish and feel, that most essential want of the
-nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself
-to the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes
-this mighty symphony, and constitutes,
-so to speak, the sum and substance of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>
-his own life and intuition. This symphony
-was soon connected in popular imagination
-with Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic
-course of human existence.</p>
-
-<p>And when we hear in mind how closely
-related just here the musician was to the poet,
-this interpretation of the work, given first by
-Richard Wagner on the occasion of its presentation
-in 1846 in Dresden, seems entirely
-warranted. What was there of which life had
-not deprived him? The words it had always
-addressed to him were these words from Faust:
-<i>Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren</i> (renounce
-thou must, thou must renounce). He now
-wished to paint a full picture of this vain
-struggle with relentless fate in tones, and what
-he had just gone through in his own experience
-enabled him to do it in living colors. All
-the recollections of his youth crowded upon
-him. There were the “pretty lively blonde”
-whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta,
-who had a short time before returned
-to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
-loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through
-the lovely Heiligenstadt valley, in the spring
-of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>
-of the reconciling power of nature, as well as
-of the <i>Pastorale</i> and the C minor symphony.
-He was now able to form an idea of their
-common meaning, and to put an interpretation
-on them very different from his first idea and
-first interpretation of them. He began to have
-a much deeper insight into the ultimate questions
-and enigmas of existence.</p>
-
-<p>But, all of a sudden, his humor left him.
-He refused to receive any visitors. “Samothracians,
-come not here; bring no one to me,”
-he wrote to Schindler, from the scene of his
-quiet life in the country. What had never
-happened before, even when he was in the
-highest stages of intellectual exaltation, now
-came to pass: he repeatedly returned from his
-wanderings through the woods and fields without
-his hat. “There is nothing higher than
-to approach nearer to the Deity than other
-men, and from such proximity to spread the
-rays of the Deity among the human race.”
-In these words, directed to the Archduke
-Rudolph, he summed up his views of his art
-and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
-was everything to him—a language, consolation,
-admonition, light and prophecy.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>This we learn most clearly from the Ninth
-Symphony, which he finished at this time, in
-Baden.</p>
-
-<p>From the dark abyss of nothing arises the
-Will, infinite Will: and with it the struggles
-and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer
-personal sorrow—for what is personal sorrow
-compared with the sorrow of the world as
-known to a great mind, experienced by a great
-heart?—it is the struggle for a higher existence
-which we “mortals have to engage in
-against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time
-did I curse my Creator because he has made
-his creatures the victims of the merest accidents.”
-Cries of anguish and anger like this—the
-cries of great souls whose broad vision is
-narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
-will is hampered—find utterance here. “I
-shall take fate by the jaws,” he says again,
-and how immense is the struggle as well as
-the consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession,
-which lives as a promise in the breasts
-of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
-such despair; and then, again, such
-strength and courage after trial, had never
-before been expressed in music. In the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>
-Ninth Symphony, we hear the voices of the
-powers which through all ages have been the
-makers of history; of the powers which preserve
-and renovate the life of humanity; and
-so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
-effort and concentration of self, stands firmly
-before us, bold and clear-eyed—for Will is
-the world itself.</p>
-
-<p>But when we see the man Beethoven, we
-find him divided against himself. We have
-often heard him say that he found the world
-detestable; and we shall again hear him express
-his opinion on that subject plainly
-enough, in this his work.</p>
-
-<p>In the second movement, which he himself
-calls only <i>allegro vivace</i>, and which, indeed, is
-no <i>scherzo</i>, not even a Beethoven-like one,
-but rather a painting, we have a dramatic
-picture of the earthly world in the whirl of
-its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of
-mere existence—such as he himself frequently
-experienced in such fullness that he leaped
-over chairs and tables—to the raging, uncontrollable
-Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment.
-But we have in it also a fresco painting
-of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>
-the existing, of exultation and jubilation as
-well as of the demoniacal in sensuous life and
-pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction
-this splendid symphony affords to a noble
-mind! It carries such a man from the arms of
-pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature,
-from appearance to reality.</p>
-
-<p>This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime
-order of the world, which calms our minds
-and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
-is heard in the <i>adagio</i> of the work. And
-when, in an incomparably poetical union to
-the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
-ordered course of things, the longing,
-perturbed human heart is contrasted by a
-second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty
-never before imagined, we at last see the soul,
-so to speak, disappear entirely before itself,
-dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
-steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the
-final chords, sound like the death knell of the
-human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
-in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to
-naught.</p>
-
-<p>But the world is man, is the heart, and
-wants to live, to live! And so here the final<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>
-echo is still the longing, sounding tones of
-human feeling.</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the
-development of this powerful tragedy, and
-thus confirms the explanation of it we have
-given, as well as the persistence of ultimate
-truth in his own heart; for in it we find—after
-the almost raging cry of all earthly existence
-in the orchestral storm of the beginning of
-the <i>finale</i>, which was even then called a “feast
-of scorn at all that is styled human joy”—in
-the sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives
-of the contra-bassos: “No, this confusion reminds
-us of our despairing condition. This is
-a magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with
-song.” And then follows the theme of the
-first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is
-something else that I am craving.” “The will
-and consciousness of man are at variance the
-one with the other, and the cause of man’s
-despairing situation.” Next comes the <i>motive</i>
-for the <i>scherzo</i>: “Nor is it this thing either;
-it is but merriness and small talk”—the trifles
-of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of
-the <i>adagio</i>: “Nor is it this thing either,” and
-thereupon the words: “I myself shall sing—music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>
-must console us, music must cheer us;”
-and then the melody, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,
-is heard, expressive of the newly-won
-peace of the soul, descriptive of human
-character in the full beauty of its simplicity
-and innocence restored. Beethoven knew from
-what depths of human nature music was born,
-and what its ultimate meaning to mankind is.</p>
-
-<p>We are made to experience this more fully
-still by the continuation of the <i>finale</i> which
-represents the solution of the conflict of this
-tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here
-sung plainly springs from its only pure and
-lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
-love—that feeling which, as religion, fills
-the heart. The <i>Ihr stuerzt nieder, Millionen</i>
-is the foundation, the germ (to express it in
-the language of music of double counterpoint)
-of the <i>Seid umschlungen, Millionen</i>,
-and then the whole sings of joy as the transfiguration
-of the earthly world by eternal love.
-The will can accomplish nothing greater than
-to sacrifice itself for the good of the whole.
-To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful
-phenomenon in the world was not the
-conqueror but the overcomer of the world;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>
-and he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.</p>
-
-<p>This is celebrated by the <i>finale</i> as the last
-consequence of the “struggle with fate,” of
-man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
-to say that out of the spirit of this music a
-“new civilization” and an existence more
-worthy of human beings might be developed,
-since it leads us back to the foundation and
-source of civilization and human existence—to
-religion? Beethoven was one of those
-great minds who have added to the intellectual
-possessions of our race in regions which extend
-far beyond the merely beautiful in art.
-When we bear this in mind, we can understand
-why he wanted to write a tenth symphony
-as the counterpart and final representation
-of these highest conceptions of the nature
-and goal of our race. This tenth symphony
-he intended should transfigure the merely humanly
-beautiful of the antique world in the
-light of the refined humanity of modern ideas—the
-earthly in the light of the heavenly. And
-we may understand, too, what we are told of
-himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed
-in his countenance, it shed about him all the
-charms of childlike innocence. “When he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>
-smiled,” we are told, “people believed not
-only in him, but in humanity.” Occasionally
-there would blossom on his lips a smile which
-those who saw could find no other word to describe
-but “heavenly.” So full was his heart
-of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.</p>
-
-<p>We shall see how the last quartets, which
-follow now, represent this, his sublime transfigured
-condition of soul, in the most varied
-pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.</p>
-
-<p>Of works composed during this period, we
-may mention: March to “Tarpeja” and the
-<i>Bardengeist</i> composed in 1813; <i>Gute Nachricht</i>,
-<i>Elegischer Gesang</i>, <i>Kriegers Abschied</i>,
-composed in 1814; Duos for the clarionette and
-bassoon, which appeared in 1815; <i>Es ist vollbracht</i>,
-<i>Sehnsucht</i>, Scotch songs, composed in
-1815; <i>Der Mann von Wort</i>, op. 99. <i>Militaermarsch</i>,
-composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
-(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; <i>Clavierstueck</i>
-in B, composed in 1818; <i>Gratulations-menuet</i>,
-composed in 1822. It will be noticed
-that the number of his works grows steadily
-smaller according as their volume or their
-depth of meaning grows greater. This last will
-be evident especially from his subsequent quartets
-which, so to speak, stand entirely alone.</p>
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V.</h2>
-
-<p class="ph1">1824-27.</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">THE LAST QUARTETS.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="blockquot">
-
-<p>Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The
-Great Concert of May, 1824—Preparation for It—Small
-Returns—Beethoven Appreciated—First Performance of
-the Missa Solemnis and of the Ninth Symphony—The
-Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture on
-B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His
-Works—His Brother Johann—Postponement of His Journey
-to London—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration
-of Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the
-Young Man—Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The
-“Magnanimous” English—Calls a Clergyman—His
-Death.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>“<span class="smcap">Noble</span> souls fall usually only because they
-do not know the mournful but incontestable
-truth that, considering our present customs
-and political institutions, the artist has more
-to suffer in proportion as he is a genuine artist.
-The more original and gigantic his
-works are, the more severely is he punished
-for the effects they produce. The swifter and
-sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish
-from the dim vision of the multitude.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>
-Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor in art,
-Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his
-days; and to whom can what he says here be
-applied with more propriety than to our artist,
-especially at this period of his life, when his
-thoughts took their sublimest flight? His
-action now seemed indeed to assure him unconditional
-victory, even in his immediate
-environment—we are approaching the celebrated
-concert of May, 1824—but how soon
-shall we see him again misunderstood by the
-crowd and, as a consequence, lonelier than ever
-before.</p>
-
-<p>He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher
-life which art and science imply, and which
-they give it to us to hope for;” and he, in
-consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of
-himself; so that his brother found it necessary
-to say to him: “You must buy yourself a new
-hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your
-expense because you have so bad a hat.” But
-now that the “colossal creation” was finished,
-even to the last iota, he began to be in better
-humor, to stroll about the streets gazing at the
-show-windows, and to salute many an old
-friend, as, for instance, his former teacher,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>
-Schenk, more warmly. His name was now
-more frequently on the lips of friends, and
-when it was known that a great symphony, as
-well as the Mass, was finished, people recalled
-the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
-and a letter signed by men of the higher
-classes of society—men whom Beethoven himself
-loved and honored—invited him, in February,
-1824, to abstain no longer from the
-performance of something great. And, indeed,
-the Italian <i>roulade</i> and all kinds of
-purely external <i>bravoura</i> had obtained supremacy
-in Vienna. The “second childhood of
-taste” threatened to follow the “golden age
-of art.” It was hoped that home art would
-receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his
-own sphere, had no equal, and that, thanks to
-his influence, the true and the beautiful would
-rule supreme again.</p>
-
-<p>Schindler found him with the manuscript
-in his hand. “It is very pretty! I am glad!”
-Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
-another hope was bound up with this. He
-hoped to obtain compensation for his long
-labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce
-something new worthy of his genius. The preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>
-for the concert was attended by very
-much that was disagreeable. His own want of
-resolution and suspicious manner contributed
-their share to this. With the most splenetic
-humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation,
-I am boiled, stewed, roasted.” And when
-several of his more intimate friends, like Count
-Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted
-to a little subterfuge to make him come
-to some resolve, he said: “I despise deceit.
-Visit me no more. And let him visit me no
-more. I’m not giving a party.” But, on the
-other hand, the first violinists of the city—Schuppanzigh,
-Mayseder and Boehm, who is
-still living—together with <i>capellmeister</i> Umlauf,
-were at the head of the orchestra, while
-a large number of amateurs were ready to lend
-their assistance at a moment’s notice. Their
-motto was: “Anything and everything for
-Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for
-the performance of Beethoven’s great creations
-were begun.</p>
-
-<p>“Just as if there were words beneath them?”
-asked Schindler, speaking of the powerful recitatives
-of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
-Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>
-subsequently so celebrated, found it exceedingly
-difficult to execute the solos in the Mass
-and the <i>finale</i>; but to all prayers that they
-might be changed, Beethoven had only one
-answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally
-replied: “Well, in God’s name, let us torment
-ourselves a little longer, take a little more
-trouble, and attempt it.” The performance
-was to occur on the 7th of May. That “rare,
-noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
-“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a
-single note. Frau von Ertmann was again in
-Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
-many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven
-personally invited the court. His trusted
-servant, who was specially helpful to him on
-this occasion, said to him: “We shall take
-your green coat with us, too; the theater is
-dark; no one can see us. O my great master,
-not a black dress coat have you in your possession.”
-The house was crowded to over-fullness.
-Only the court box was almost empty,
-on account of the Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s
-attendant again tells us: “His reception
-was more than imperial; at the fourth
-round of applause, the people became vociferous.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>
-And Boehm tells us how the tears
-rushed into his own and Mayseder’s eyes at
-the very beginning. And what a success the
-performance was!</p>
-
-<p>In one of the accounts of it that have come
-down to us, we read: “Never in my life did
-I hear such tempestuous and at the same time
-such hearty applause. At one place—where
-the kettle-drums so boldly take up the rhythmic
-<i>motive</i> alone—the second movement of
-the symphony was totally interrupted by the
-applause; the tears stood in the eyes of the
-performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to
-wield the baton until Umlauf called his attention
-to the action of the audience by a motion
-of his hand. He looked at them and bowed
-in a very composed way.” At the close the
-applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
-say, the man who was the cause of it all again
-turned his back to the enthusiastic audience.
-At this juncture, the happy thought occurred
-to Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards
-the audience, and to ask him to notice their
-applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs.
-He testified his gratitude simply
-by bowing, and this was the signal for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>
-breaking forth of a jubilation such as had
-scarcely ever before been heard in a theater,
-and which it seemed would never end. The
-next day, we read, in his conversation leaves,
-what some one said to him: “Everybody is
-shattered and crushed by the magnitude of
-your works.”</p>
-
-<p>And now, what of the pecuniary success of
-the performance? It was measured by about
-one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses
-attending it had been too great. Besides, regular
-subscribers, entitled to their seats in boxes,
-did not pay a farthing for this concert. The
-court did not send in a penny, which, however,
-they were wont not to fail to do on the occasion
-of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven
-reached his home, Schindler handed him the
-account of the receipts. “When he saw it, he
-broke down entirely. We took him and laid
-him on the sofa. We remained at his side
-until late in the night. He asked neither for
-food nor for anything else. Not an audible
-word did he utter. At last, when we observed
-that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we
-retired. His servant found him next morning
-in his concert toilette (his green dress coat)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>
-in the same place, asleep.” This account is
-by Schindler, who, together with the young
-official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
-Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him
-home on this occasion.</p>
-
-<p>This was the first performance of the <i>Missa
-Solemnis</i> (op. 123) and of the Ninth Symphony
-(op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May,
-1824. The fact that when the performance
-was repeated on the 24th of May, spite of the
-additional attraction of the “adored” tenor,
-David, who sang Rossini’s <i>Di tanti palpiti</i>,
-(after so much pain), the house was half empty,
-shows that, after all, it was more curiosity
-to see the celebrated deaf man than real taste
-for art which had filled it the first time. Like
-Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
-pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius.
-Not till 1845 did the magnanimous liberality
-of one who was really permeated by his spirit
-bring it to pass that a monument was erected
-to him in his native city, Bonn, as that same
-liberality has brought it to pass that one has
-been erected to him, in our own day, in his
-second home, Vienna. We have reference to
-the royal gift and to the equally rich playing
-of Franz Liszt.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>It now became more imperative for him to
-give his attention to those compositions which
-promised him some immediate return, to the
-quartets, to write which he had received a
-commission from persons as noted for their
-generosity to him as for their love of art.
-These and the op. 127 occupy the first
-place in this brilliant constellation of art.
-“I am not writing what I should prefer
-to write. I am writing for the money I
-need. When that end is satisfied, I hope
-to write what is of most importance to
-myself and to art—Faust.” He thus expressed
-himself when engaged in the composition
-of the Ninth Symphony, and there
-was some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for
-Boston.” And so, likewise, the German Melusine
-and an opera for Naples, the Requiem,
-the tenth symphony, and an overture on
-B-A-C-H remained projects and no more.
-But they were also a great prospect for the future
-while he was engaged in the labors of
-the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable
-influence on the composition of the quartets
-themselves. The more he became interested
-in these works—and what works were better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>
-calculated to interest a composer of such poetic
-power—the more did these ideas become
-interwoven into the works themselves. They
-generated the peculiarly grand style and
-the monumental character which distinguish
-these last quartets. The soul-pictures from
-Faust especially are here eloquently re-echoed
-in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed,
-the Prince, who had given him the commission
-to write them, seemed to be the very
-man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was
-highest and best in art, even in such a narrow
-sphere. For he had so arranged it that, even
-before its production in Vienna, that “sublime
-masterpiece,” the Mass, was publicly performed.
-He informs us that the effect on the public
-was indescribable; that he had never before
-heard anything, not even of Mozart’s music,
-which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
-genius was centuries in advance of
-his age, and that probably there was not
-among his hearers a single one enlightened
-enough to take in the full beauty of his music.
-On the other hand, there reigned in
-Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the
-restoration, with its idol Rossini, a revelry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>
-which had driven all noble and serious music
-into the background. Besides, the Prince had
-ordered that the costs for musical composition
-should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”</p>
-
-<p>Beethoven now went to work in earnest,
-and this composition was destined to be his
-last.</p>
-
-<p>He had already made a great many drafts
-of the works above mentioned, one for op. 127
-in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding
-quartet in A minor (op. 131), in the year
-1823, when he was completing the Ninth
-Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet
-in A minor remind us, in more ways than
-one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony—the
-latter by its passion so full of pain, the former,
-with its <i>adagio</i>, where the longing glances
-to the stars have generated a wonderful,
-melancholy peace of soul. The immediately
-following third quartet (op. 130) stands out
-before us like a newly created world, but one
-which is “not of this world.” And, indeed,
-the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
-more and more to liberate him, heart
-and soul, from this world, and the whole composition
-of the quartets appears like a preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>
-for the moment when the mind,
-released from existence here, feels united with
-a higher being. But it is not a painfully
-happy longing for death that here finds expression.
-It is the heartfelt, certain and
-joyful feeling of something really eternal and
-holy that speaks to us in the language of a
-new dispensation. And even the pictures of
-the world here to be found, be they serious or
-gay, have this transfigured light—this outlook
-into eternity. There is little in the
-world of art, in which the nature of the
-religious appears so fully in its substance and
-essence without showing itself at any time
-otherwise than purely human, and therefore
-imperishable—never clothed in an accidental
-and perishable garb. This explains how a
-people not noted for any musical genius, but
-who are able to understand the spirit and
-meaning of music, the English, whom Beethoven
-himself esteemed so highly, considered
-his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his
-music is religious in its ultimate meaning and
-spirit. This character of his music finds its
-purest and most striking expression in the last
-quartets; and these quartets enable us to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>
-understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
-Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that
-our civilization might receive a new soul from
-the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
-religion which might permeate it through and
-through.</p>
-
-<p>We now pass to an account of the details
-of the origin of these works.</p>
-
-<p>The bitterness which Beethoven was destined
-henceforth to taste proceeded for the
-most part from his own relatives. “God is
-my witness, my only dream is to get away
-entirely from you, from my miserable brother,
-and from this despicable family which has
-been tied to me,” he writes, in 1825, to his
-growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
-touching on these sad things, because now,
-especially, they exercised the greatest influence
-on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
-and because they finally led to a
-catastrophe which played a part in bringing
-about his premature death.</p>
-
-<p>His weak and “somewhat money-loving”
-brother, Johann, had, indeed, in consequence
-of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference,
-married a silly wife. He found it impossible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>
-to control her course, or even to get a divorce
-from her, because he had made over to her a
-part of his property, and was “inflexible” on
-this very point. And so the brother was not
-able, spite of many invitations, to induce
-Beethoven to visit him even once on his estate
-of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf, on the Danube.
-Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of
-1823: “O accursed shame! Have you not a
-spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself
-by entering such company?” Yet, his
-sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees. But
-the mother of the boy continued, now that he
-was beginning to mature, to draw him into her
-own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven wrote
-in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous
-breath of the dragon; and levity, falsehood
-and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle,
-who was at the same time a father to him,
-followed. Carried away by the impulses of
-his moral feelings, the latter was severe even
-to harshness with the boy, and yet could not
-dispense with the young man’s company because
-of his increasing age and isolation. The
-natural craving for love, moral severity and
-the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>
-texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.</p>
-
-<p>The correspondence of this year, 1824,
-turns principally upon the pecuniary realization
-from his new, great works; for he wanted
-to be in London in the fall without fail. We
-have also a letter of his about his will, to his
-lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He
-writes: “Only in divine art is the power
-which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
-heavenly muses the best part of my life.”
-We hear also the celestial sounds of the
-<i>adagio</i>, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was
-himself filled with this true “manna;” for
-he exclaims in these same summer days,
-“Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me
-to be delivered over to the hands of death, for
-I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
-with and commands me to finish. I feel as if
-I had written scarcely a note.” And we
-even now find the sketches of those pieces
-expressive of a happiness more than earthly,
-or else, in gay irony, of contempt for the existing
-world, or of the mighty building up of
-a new world; the <i>alla danza tedesca</i> and the
-<i>poco scherzando</i> of op. 130, as well as the
-great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>
-be the original <i>finale</i> of op. 130, and which,
-by its superscription, “overture” and the
-gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of
-the plan of the <i>Bachouverture</i>. Even the unspeakably
-deep melancholy and, at the same
-time, blissful, hopeful <i>cavatina</i> of the same
-third quartet op. 130, blossoms forth now
-from the feeling of his heart, which has taken
-into itself the full meaning of the eternal, and
-is filled with a higher joy. We here find, as
-in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs
-of a new and deep-felt language of the heart,
-a real personal language, acquired to humanity
-for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
-which, in our own day, has led to the most
-touching soul-pictures in art—to the transfiguration
-of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying
-song of redeeming love.</p>
-
-<p>A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The
-desolate horrors that surround him endow him
-with the power to understand more clearly
-the higher tasks of the mind in which his
-art had a living part. We see plainly that
-his nature tends more and more towards the
-one thing necessary—“All love is sympathy,”
-sympathy with the sorrows of the world,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>
-says the philosopher. And so while his vision
-takes an immense sweep over the field
-of existence, we see that an inexhaustible
-source of patient goodness and of the kindest
-and most heartfelt love, springs up within
-him. “From childhood up it was my greatest
-happiness to be able to work for others,”
-he once said; and again when the overture,
-op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much
-praised on this account, etc. But what is
-that all to the great Master of Tones above—above—above!
-rightly the Most High, when
-here below it is used only for purposes of ridicule.
-Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen
-to the sublime irony of his tones in op. 130,
-but also to the lustrous mildness of the <i>adagio</i>
-of op. 127, in which in the little movement in
-E major, the human soul itself, filled with the
-spirit of the Eternal, so to speak, opens its eyes
-and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all
-that is, that was and that will be. No mortal
-man has lifted my veil. He comes from Himself
-alone, and to this Only One all things
-owe their existence.” Beethoven wrote out
-this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824,
-framed it and placed it on his writing table<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>
-before him. He well knew what the really
-creative and preserving deity in human life
-is. That deity lived in his own most heartfelt
-thought and feeling. It was to him a continual
-source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To
-it he was indebted for the poetic creations
-which sprung unbidden from his brain.</p>
-
-<p>The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to
-the spring and summer of 1825. His journey
-to London had been postponed. Schindler
-gives as the reason of this, the “bad behavior
-of his dearly beloved nephew, which had become
-somewhat notorious.” How could his
-“son” be abandoned, thus unguarded, to “the
-poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
-invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony
-was again taken in hand, and from the
-sketches of it now made, we know all that is
-certain about it. It was intended to do no
-less than to add the “beautiful to the good,”
-to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty
-of the antique, or rather to transfigure the
-mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
-light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed,
-a picture of this kind, a direct, intentional,
-higher picture of the world in the <i>adagio,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>
-in modo lidico</i>, in the second quartet. It is
-called the “Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent
-to the Deity,” and is a choral between
-the repetitions of which, ever richer
-and more heartfelt, the joyful pulsations of
-new life are expressed. Beethoven had been
-seriously sick during this spring. His affection
-for his nephew had assumed, in consequence
-of one continual irritation of his feelings,
-the nature of a passion which tormented
-the boy to death, but which, like every passion,
-brought no happiness to Beethoven himself.
-The first movement of this quartet in
-A minor is a psychological picture—a poem of
-the passions—the consuming character of
-which can be explained only by this very
-condition of the artist’s own soul. And how
-Beethoven’s creations always came from his
-own great soul, that soul so fully capable of
-every shade of feeling and excitement! The
-account left us by the young poet, Rellstab,
-written in the spring of 1825, gives us a perfect
-description of the state Beethoven was in
-at this time. He describes him “a man with a
-kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
-Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>
-of this description. “In what part of me
-am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to
-his nephew, whose frivolity had already begun
-to bear evil fruit. On another occasion he
-said: “O, trouble me no more. The man
-with the scythe will not respite me much
-longer.”</p>
-
-<p>Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps
-because of this extreme excitement of his
-whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very
-rich in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,”
-he had to write the quartet in C sharp
-minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
-130). The last quartet also, that in F major,
-had its origin in that “inexhaustible fancy”—a
-fancy which always tended to the production
-of such works. Hence it is that the
-number of movements increases. The second
-has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the
-fourth (C sharp minor), seven—as if the old
-form of the suite, or the <i>divertimento</i> of the
-septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s
-comparison immediately shows the presence of
-the old organic articulation of the form of the
-sonata. These movements are in fact only
-transitions to, and connecting links between,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>
-two colossal movements. They increase the
-usual number of movements, although frequently
-nothing more than short sentences,
-and at times only a few measures. But the
-introductory movement and the <i>finale</i> in the
-quartet in A minor loom up like the pillars
-of Hercules, and determine the impassioned
-character and the dramatic style of the whole.
-Beethoven himself called it a piece of art
-worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130,
-when the great fugue, op. 133, is considered
-a part of it, which in our day it should always
-be conceded to be. And how immensely great
-is this spirit when, in the quartet in C sharp
-minor, it awakes from the most profound contemplation
-of self to the contemplation of the
-world and its pain.—“Through sorrow, joy!”</p>
-
-<p>We must refer the reader to the third
-volume of <i>Beethoven’s Leben</i>, published in
-Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the
-desolation of our artist, produced by the narrow
-circle with which the restoration of Metternich
-and Gentz surrounded him, at a time
-when his own mind and feeling were expanding
-to greater dimensions than ever before.
-To the same source we must send him for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>
-description of the full earnestness and greatness
-of this last period in the life of our artist.
-In that work was for the first time presented
-to the public, from original sources, and especially
-from the records of Beethoven’s written
-conversations, extant in the Berlin library,
-the comfortless—but at the same time, and
-spite of continual torment, intellectually exalted—picture
-of his character. “Words are
-interdicted. It is a fortunate thing that tones
-are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the poet of
-the oratorio, <i>Saul and David</i>, to him at this
-time—a work in which he wished to give expression
-both to his own relation as a human
-being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working
-nature of his art. The execution of
-this plan was prevented only by death. The
-general demoralization which had invaded
-Vienna with the Congress made its effects felt
-directly in his own circle, through the agency
-of his nephew, and thus paved the way for
-disaster to himself. “Our age has need of
-vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
-miserable wretches,” he cries out at this
-very time to his nephew, who had permitted
-himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>
-to irritate, at the expense of a genuine
-<i>faijak</i>—as Beethoven was wont now to call
-the good Viennese—the music-dealer Haslinger;
-and the matter had become public.
-But he adds to the above: “Much as my heart
-resists causing pain to a single human being.”
-And, indeed, his heart knew nothing of such
-anger or vengeance. It was always a real sympathizer
-with the sorrows born of human
-weakness—a sorrow which with him swelled
-to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself.
-To this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is
-indebted for its series of pictures, in which
-we see the world created, as it were, anew with
-a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy,
-humorous, cheerful coloring of the
-several pieces—pieces which, indeed, are no
-mere sonata movements, but full pictures of
-life and of the soul. The <i>cavatina</i> overtops
-it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
-admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from
-him “fresh tears.”</p>
-
-<p>“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he
-implores his “son.” Speaking of the rabble
-of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer
-the whole week like a saint;” and, on another<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>
-occasion, still more painfully: “May God be
-with, thee and me. It will be all over soon
-with thy faithful father.” His days, so
-strangely divided between the loftiest visions
-of the spirit and the meanest troubles of life,
-henceforth render him more and more indifferent
-to the latter. We find persons invade
-his circle whom otherwise he would never
-have permanently endured about him, and
-who frequently led him into minor sorts of
-dissipation even in public places. This reacted
-on the nephew, whose respect for the
-character of his “great uncle” could not long
-stand a course of action apparently like his
-own. But even now we see a picture in tones
-of which one of the <i>faijaks</i>, the government
-officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied it,
-writes to Beethoven himself: “When one
-can survey it thus calmly, new worlds come
-into being.” We have reference to the quartet
-in C sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look
-beaming with light, dripping with sorrow and
-joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this
-time in beautiful Baden, and, indeed, this
-work, which he himself called the “greatest”
-of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>
-from the Ninth Symphony, the meaning
-of his own life, which he here himself, as
-Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a
-wild melody of pleasure and pain. But we
-now recognize more clearly that something
-“like a vulture is devouring his heart.” We,
-indeed, are drawing near to the catastrophe
-which led to his premature end.</p>
-
-<p>As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed
-“stormy scenes.” An uncontrollable
-love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
-the streets had led the young man into worse
-and worse courses, to falsehood and embezzlement.
-And when these were discovered,
-he secretly ran away from home. It was not
-long, however, before the loving weakness of
-his uncle called him back. The only effect
-of this was henceforth to condemn Beethoven
-himself to a slavish, too slavish life, one which
-would have been a torment even to an ordinary
-mortal, but which must have been doubly so
-to a passionate, great man who was deaf. The
-nephew found fault with his uncle, with his
-“reproaches” and “rows.” He accused him
-even of having led him into had company.
-He dreaded other reproaches still and was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>
-afraid of even personal violence. At last, one
-day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
-the frightful news that his son had left his
-dwelling with a pair of pistols, and intended to
-take his own life. A long and terrible morning
-was spent searching for the unfortunate
-youth, who was finally led home, with a
-wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done
-now. Torment me no longer with reproofs
-and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
-and feeling may be inferred from the words
-found in his conversation leaves: “I have
-grown worse, because my uncle wanted to
-make me better;” and from these others:
-“He said it was not hatred, but a very different
-feeling, that moved him against you.”</p>
-
-<p>The uncle, alas! understood these expressions
-better than those about him. These had
-only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
-“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly
-to be seen in his bent attitude. The man, firm
-and upright in all the movements of his
-body, was gone. A person of about seventy
-was before us—yielding, without a will, the
-sport of every breath of air.” So wrote
-Schindler. Beethoven called for the Bible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>
-“in the real language into which Luther
-had translated it.” A few days later, we
-find in his conversations the following memorandum:
-“On the death of Beethoven.”
-Did he mean his own death, or the death
-of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to
-speak, lost his own life? Be this as it
-may, he now sang the deepest song of his
-soul, and it was destined to be his dying song.
-We refer to the <i>adagio</i> in the last quartet, op.
-135. His harp soon after this grew silent, and
-forever. Henceforth we have only projects or
-fragments of works. But he touched it once
-more, like King Gunther in the Edda, “seated
-among serpents,” the most venomous of
-which—the pangs of his own conscience—menaced
-him with death. Among the pictures
-in which he paints the meaning of a theme
-similar to that of this <i>adagio</i> (pieces thus independent
-of one another cannot rightly be
-called variations), there is one whose minor
-key and rhythm show it to be a funeral ceremony
-of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt
-he may have incurred he atoned for in his
-heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
-His soul is free. This the theme itself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span>
-tells us, eloquently and distinctly. Here the
-soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
-own primeval source, and towards the close
-plumes its wing for a happy, lofty flight, to
-regions it has longed to enter. The other
-pictures show us this full, certain and joyful
-possession of one’s self, and the last even seems
-to resolve the soul into its faculties when it
-floats about the Eternal Being in the most
-blissful happiness—a vision and condition
-which, of all the means of expression of the
-intellect, only music is able to describe, and
-which proves to us that, in the case of our
-artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.</p>
-
-<p>And thus it comes that a movement with
-which there is none to be compared, one which
-to our feelings is the richest and most perfect of
-all movements, and, at the same time, of the
-most brilliant transparency, made its way into
-a work which otherwise shows no trace of the
-magnitude of this his last effort. For the
-<i>finale</i> is only a sham-play of those magic
-powers which our master so well knew how
-to conjure up, both in sublime horror and in
-saving joy.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>But his physical condition was soon destined
-to be in keeping with the condition of his soul
-above described. When, indeed, Karl was
-convalescing as well as could be desired, and
-he had decided to follow the military calling,
-Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally
-at least, he again looked fresh and cheerful.
-“He knew,” says Schindler, “how to rise
-superior to his fate, and his whole character
-bore an ‘antique dignity.’” But even now
-he told the old friend of his youth, Wegeler,
-that he intended “to produce only a few more
-great works, and then, like an old child, to
-close his earthly career somewhere among good
-men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature
-seemed shattered. “What dost thou want?
-Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the
-truest resignation sufficient for thee, even if
-thou art in want?” This one conversation
-with Karl tells us everything.</p>
-
-<p>Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared.
-A single blow, and his powerful,
-manly form was shattered like that of the
-meanest of mortals. And, indeed, that blow
-was struck with almost unexpected violence.</p>
-
-<p>After his recovery, Karl was released by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>
-the police on the express condition that he
-would remain in Vienna only one day more.
-His scar, however, prevented his entering the
-service. Where, then, could he go, now that
-the fall was just beginning? His brother,
-Johann, invited him to his Wasserhof estate
-near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
-as he had once: <i>non possibile per me</i>—impossible
-for me. But his sojourn in a country
-house not constructed so as to guard against
-the cold and dampness, a want of attention to
-his growing infirmity, misunderstandings with
-his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with the
-brother himself, who, after it, refused him the
-use of his close carriage, and, lastly, his departure
-in the cold of winter in the “devil’s
-own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired
-to send our patient back to Vienna, the
-subject of a violent fit of sickness. In addition
-to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician,
-and none visited his sick bed until the
-third day after his return. The doctor who
-came was not Beethoven’s customary physician,
-and totally misunderstood the nature of the
-disease. Other shocks succeeded, and the consequence
-was a violent attack of dropsy, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>
-symptoms of which had first shown themselves
-in Gneixendorf.</p>
-
-<p>His long, painfully long end was now beginning.
-His constitution, powerful as that of
-a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
-nearly three months. As labor of any kind
-was out of the question, the arrival of Handel’s
-works from London, which came to him
-as a present, supplied him with the distraction
-he wished for, in his own sphere. It
-was not long before attacks of suffocation at
-night distressed him and it became necessary
-to perform the operation paracentesis. When
-he saw the stream of water gush forth, he remarked,
-with that sublimity of humor so peculiarly
-his own, that the surgeon reminded
-him of Moses, who struck the rock with his
-rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he added:
-“Better water from the stomach than from the
-pen.” With this he consoled himself. But
-he grew worse, and a medical consultation
-seemed necessary to his friends. His own
-heart forebode him no good, and he again
-made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827.
-He made his beloved nephew “sole heir to all
-he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>
-his regiment the day before, and this had a
-good and quieting effect on Beethoven. He
-knew that the young man would be best provided
-for there, and testified his gratitude to
-General von Stutterheim, who had received
-him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet
-in C sharp minor—his “greatest” quartet.
-He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be called.
-But he had had a falling out years before with
-him, and the celebrated physician did not now
-want to excite the displeasure of his colleagues.
-Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly
-when I told him the doctor’s decision.”</p>
-
-<p>But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had
-exchanged a few words, the old friends lay
-weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor
-prescribed iced punch to “quicken the organs
-of digestion, enervated by too much medicine.”
-The first physician who was called to
-attend him tells us: “The effect of the prescription
-was soon perceptible. He grew cheerful,
-was full of witty sallies at times, and even
-dreamt that he might be able to finish his oratorio
-<i>Saul and David</i>.” From his written
-conversations, we see that a great many of his
-friends had gathered about his bed. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>
-thought of finishing the Bach overture for one
-of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to
-busy himself with the Tenth Symphony once
-more. He had again to experience the feeling
-of pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition—an
-embarrassment now more painful
-than ever—brought about more especially by
-the necessity of procuring a military outfit for
-Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed, expressly promised
-a short time before to send him money,
-but he proved a “princely boaster;” and there
-was no prospect of an income from any other
-source. All his completed works had been
-sold, and the little fortune he had laid aside
-at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
-irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.</p>
-
-<p>His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous”
-English, who had already promised
-him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time.
-The third operation had been performed. His
-long-continued solitude had alienated men
-from him in Vienna; and, especially after his
-experiences with the <i>Akademie</i> in 1824, he
-had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
-for art of his second home. This
-induced Schindler to write to England: “But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>
-what afflicts him very much is, that no one
-here concerns himself in the least about him;
-and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
-him is very surprising.” After this, we find
-only his most intimate friends at his bedside.
-Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened
-to be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes:
-“Thou must bless my boy as Voltaire blessed
-Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling
-and giving concerts, also saw him, and at
-the sight of his suffering—he had just undergone
-the fourth operation—burst into tears.
-Beethoven had, at the moment of Hummel’s
-visit, received a little picture as a present, and
-he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear
-Hummel, the house in which Haydn was
-born—the miserable peasant hut, in which so
-great a man was born!”</p>
-
-<p>He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who
-had purchased his Mass and his Ninth Symphony,
-and who was destined one day to become
-the owner of the <i>Niebelungen</i>, for some
-old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti recommended
-an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it
-seemed to him, would surely save him. But
-it had the very opposite effect, and he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>
-soon taken with violent pains. He wrote to
-London: “I only ask God that I may be preserved
-from want as long as I must here endure
-a living death.” The response was one
-thousand guldens from the Philharmonic Society
-of that city “on account of the concert
-in preparation.” “It was heart-rending to
-see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
-in tears of joy and gratitude” when he
-received them. This was his last joy, and the
-excitement it caused accelerated his end. His
-wound broke open again and did not close any
-more. He felt this at first a wonderful relief,
-and while he felt so he dictated some letters
-for London, which are among the most beautiful
-he has written. He promised to finish
-the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had
-other “gigantic” plans, especially as regards
-his Faust music. “That will be something
-worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The
-overflow of his fancy was “indescribable, and
-his imagination showed an elasticity which
-his friends had noticed but seldom when he
-was in health.” At the same time, the most
-beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated
-before his mind, and in conversation he always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>
-represented his own works as filled with such
-“poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
-“indescribably great. His dissolution was
-approaching” with giant steps, and even his
-friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
-wrote to London on the 24th March: “He
-feels that his end is near, for yesterday he said
-to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands,
-friends; the play is over.’” And further:
-“He advances towards death with really Socratic
-wisdom and unexampled equanimity.”
-He could well be calm of heart and soul. He
-had done his duty as an artist and as a man.
-This same day he wrote a codicil to his will
-in favor of his nephew; and now his friends
-had only one deep concern—to reconcile him
-with heaven. The physician approved, and
-Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
-“I will.”</p>
-
-<p>The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly
-performed his last religious duties.
-Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him
-say, after he had received the sacrament:
-“Reverend sir, I thank you. You have
-brought me consolation.”</p>
-
-<p>He then reminded Schindler of the letter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>
-to London, “May God bless them,” he said.
-The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad!
-too bad! it’s too late!” These were his very
-last words. He fell immediately after into
-such an agony that he was not able to utter a
-single syllable more. On the 24th and 25th
-of March, the people came in crowds to see
-him again. Even the <i>faijaks</i>, Hoslinger and
-Holz, as well as the poet Castelli, were among
-them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,”
-said Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur,
-who, in relating the incident, added that when
-Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he
-covered his face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’
-he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his hand,
-but never saw him again.’” This was the last
-act of his life.</p>
-
-<p>“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock,
-which he had received as a present from
-Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as
-it still does when a storm is approaching.
-Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
-churchyard, to select a grave for him. A
-storm of loud thunder and hail came raging
-on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van
-Beethoven and the young composer, Anselm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>
-Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither from
-Graz to look upon his revered master once
-more, were present in the room of the dying
-man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it
-with a lurid flash. The moribund opened his
-eyes, raised his right hand, and looked up with
-a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of
-the hero would not out. But when his uplifted
-hand fell back on the bed, his eyes half
-closed. Not another breath! Not another
-heart-beat! It was I that closed the half-open
-eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
-an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment.
-This was the 28th of March, 1827.</p>
-
-<p>“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter,
-wept at his grave, but a world wept at it.”
-These are the words of the orator of the day
-on the occasion of the unveiling of the first
-monument to Beethoven in 1845, in Bonn.
-But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring
-was a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty
-thousand human beings surged over the street
-where now the votive church stands; for in
-the <i>Schwarzspanierhaus</i> behind it, Beethoven
-had lived during the last years of his life.
-The leading <i>capellmeisters</i> of the city carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>
-the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.</p>
-
-<p>“The news of his death had violently shaken
-the people out of their indifference,” says Dr.
-G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
-poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the
-funeral procession, “the general of musicians”
-whom men were carrying to the grave! The
-poet, Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration.
-He took for his text the words: “He was an
-artist, and he was what he was only through
-his art.” Our very being and our sublimest
-feelings are touched when we hear the name
-of</p>
-
-<p class="center">LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="ph1">FOOTNOTE:</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a></p>
-
-<p>To part from thee, my dear, this day,<br>
-And know that I can’t with thee stay,<br>
-Is more than my sad heart can bear.</p>
-
-</div></div>
-
-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="ph3">TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">COMPRISING</p>
-</div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<p><span class="large"><b>MEMORIES;</b></span> A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.<br>
-
-<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> MAX MÜLLER.</span></p>
-<p>&#160;</p>
-<p><span class="large"><b>GRAZIELLA;</b></span> A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.<br>
-
-<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. DE LAMARTINE.</span></p>
-<p>&#160;</p>
-<p><span class="large"><b>MARIE;</b></span> A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.<br>
-
-<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> ALEX. PUSHKIN.</span></p>
-<p>&#160;</p>
-<p><span class="large"><b>MADELEINE;</b></span> A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.<br>
-
-<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> JULES SANDEAU.</span></p>
-<p>&#160;</p>
-</div></div>
-
-<hr class="tiny">
-<p class="center"><i>In neat box, per set</i>,       <span class="gap2">      <i>Price, $3.00.</i></span><br>
-<i>Sold separately, per volume</i>,  <span class="gap">    <i>Price, $1.25.</i></span></p>
-<hr class="tiny">
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>Of “Memories” the London <i>Academy</i> says: “It is a prose poem.
-* * * It is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any
-work, however small, that does not bear some marks of its special bent,
-and the traces of research and philosophy In this little story are apparent,
-while its beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided
-mind, to which we already owe large debts of gratitude.”</p>
-
-<p>Of “Graziella” the Chicago <i>Tribune</i> says: “It glows with love of the
-beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a
-perfect story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm
-and flow, the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform
-with ‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the
-shelves of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong
-words. ‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”</p>
-
-<p>Of “Marie” the Cincinnati <i>Gazette</i> says: “This is a Russian love tale,
-written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little narratives
-that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic, and a Russian
-classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so distinctively Russian.
-We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and meet, face to face, the high-souled,
-simple-minded Russian.”</p>
-
-<p>Of “Madeleine” the New York <i>Evening Telegram</i> says: “More than
-thirty years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French
-Academy and has since almost become a French classic. It abounds
-both in pathos and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love
-of the most exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so
-sweet, so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
-public.”</p>
-
-<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
-
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-</div>
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-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
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-<div class="chapter">
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="center">“<i>It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every schoolboy.</i>”—<i>Saturday
-Review, London.</i></p>
-<hr class="tiny">
-<p class="ph3">Tales of Ancient Greece.</p>
-
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By the REV. SIR G. W. COX, Bart., M.A.</span>,<br>
-Trinity College, Oxford.</p>
-
-<hr class="tiny">
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-rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”—<i>Inquirer, Philadelphia.</i></p>
-
-<p>“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
-versions might well find a place in every family.”—<i>The Nation, New York.</i></p>
-
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-peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”—<i>Standard, Chicago.</i></p>
-
-<p>“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among
-those English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable
-rank in the investigation of Greek history.”—<i>Edinburgh Review.</i></p>
-
-<p>“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin, and yet
-fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for the first time,
-were ever before presented in so chaste and popular form.”—<i>Golden Rule,
-Boston.</i></p>
-
-<p>“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
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-<p>“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its contents
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-Chicago.</i></p>
-
-<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
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-</div></div>
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-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
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-<div class="blockquot">
-<p class="ph3">SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.</p>
-
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.<br>
-
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-to the foundation of the existing Republic.”—<i>Cincinnati Gazette.</i></p>
-
-<p>“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little history may
-be commended as the best of its kind that has yet appeared.”—<i>Bulletin,
-Philadelphia.</i></p>
-
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-of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”—<i>Christian
-Union, New York.</i></p>
-
-<p>“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to conscientiously
-give it our heartiest commendation. We know no elementary
-history of France that can at all be compared with it.”—<i>Living Church.</i></p>
-
-<p>“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and nation—one
-that will seize and hold the attention of all bright boys and girls
-who have a chance to read it.”—<i>Sunday Afternoon, Springfield</i>, (<i>Mass.</i>)</p>
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-has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
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-Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”—<i>Christian Register,
-Boston.</i></p>
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-<p>“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during
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-well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before us.”—<i>Transcript,
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-<p>“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
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-<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">Christianity</span>.</p>
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-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Rev.</span> J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,<br>
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-<p>“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who thinks
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-New York.</i></p>
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-<p>“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
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-<p>“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is thrown
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-Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive campaign seems
-greatly attributable.”—<i>New England Historical and Genealogical Register.</i></p>
-
-<p>“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold has
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-meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
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+    <title>
+      Life of Beethoven, by Louis Nohl—A Project Gutenberg eBook
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69693 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp51" id="i_frontispiece" style="max-width: 450px;">
+<img class="w100" src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="Ludwig Van Beethoven">
+<figcaption class="caption">
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Ludwig Van Beethoven.</span></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+<p><span class="large"><i>BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS.</i></span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<h1><span class="smcap">Life of Beethoven</span></h1>
+
+<p>BY<br>
+<span class="xlarge">LOUIS NOHL</span></p>
+
+<p>TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN<br>
+BY<br>
+<span class="large">JOHN J. LALOR.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p>“<i>Our age has need of vigorous minds.</i>”</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>CHICAGO:<br>
+JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.<br>
+1881.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">COPYRIGHT.<br>
+<span class="large">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.</span><br>
+A. D. 1880.<br>
+<br>
+STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED<br>
+BY<br>
+THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Music</span> is the most popular of the arts. It fills
+man’s breast with a melancholy joy. Even the brute
+creation is not insensible to its power. Yet, at its
+best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
+without reason are training, practice, talent, and
+the development of that talent, required for the
+understanding of her secrets. “One wishes to be
+heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion
+becomes only women, but music should strike fire
+from the mind of a man.” In some such strain as
+this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
+how slowly the works of the great symphonist found
+a hearing and recognition from the general public.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the
+name of Beethoven? Who is there that, hearing
+one of his compositions, does not feel the presence
+of a sublime, all-ruling power—of a power that
+springs from the deepest sources of all life? His
+very name inspires us with a feeling of veneration,
+and we can readily believe the accounts that have
+come down to us; how even strangers drew back
+with a species of awe, before this man of imposing
+appearance, spite of his smallness of stature, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span>
+his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
+piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two
+charcoal-burners who suddenly stopped their heavily
+laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow pass,
+this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all
+Vienna, and who was wont to stand and think, and
+then, humming, to go his way, moving about bee-like
+through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book
+in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>We are moved with the same feeling of respect
+that moved those common men, when we hear only
+Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
+are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel
+in that music the presence of the spirit that animates
+and sustains the world, and which is continually
+calling new life into existence. Even the
+person who is not a musician himself may feel, in
+these mighty productions, the certainty of the
+presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
+sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of
+hearts, the joys and sorrows of which Beethoven
+has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when we
+hear them, that the person who in them speaks to
+us has, in very deed, something to tell us, something
+of our own life; because he lived and felt
+more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and
+loved and suffered what we all love and suffer, more
+deeply than any other child of dust. In Beethoven,
+we meet with a personage really great, both in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>
+mind and heart, one who was able to become a
+sublime model to us, because life and art were serious
+things with him, and one who made it his duty
+“to live not for himself, but for other men.” The
+high degree of self-denying power found in this
+phenomenon of art, it is that has such an elevating
+effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks
+of the artist he discharged with equal fidelity.
+His life was the foundation on which the superstructure
+of his works rose. His greatness as a
+man was the source of his greatness as an artist.
+The mere story of his life, given here in outline,
+reveals to us the internal springs of his artistic
+creations, and we must perforce admit, that the
+history of Beethoven’s life is a part of the history
+of the higher intellectual life of our time and of
+humanity.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<table>
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His<br>
+Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears in<br>
+Public at the Age of Seven—Errors as to His Age—Travels in Holland—Studies<br>
+the Organ in Vienna—His Fame Foretold—His Personal<br>
+Appearance—Meets Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian,<br>
+Elector of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual<br>
+Training—Madame von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and<br>
+Hayden—Compositions written in Vienna</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The<br>
+Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First Great Exploits—Plans<br>
+for Future Work—Decides to Remove to the North—New Compositions—His<br>
+Improvisations—Disappointments in North Germany—Prince<br>
+Louis Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His<br>
+Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The<br>
+Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness Again—Thoughts<br>
+of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning of His Music—His<br>
+“Will”—Disappointment—Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio—The<br>
+Leonore Overture—Other Compositions</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40">40</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.—THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,<br> SYMPHONIES.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">The Pastorale—Meaning of the Apassionata—Beethoven’s Letter to His<br>
+“Immortal Loved One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—Thinks<br>
+of Writing Operas—Court Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The<br>
+Mass in C, op. 86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio In Prague—Music<br>
+for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Character of<br>
+His Works about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The<br>
+Cello Sonata, op. 69—Improvement in His pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph<br>
+Bonaparte—Vienna fears to lose Him—Contemplated Journey<br>
+to England—The Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His<br>
+Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a>-<a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The Battle-Symphony—Its<br>
+Success—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual<br>
+Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The Fidelio Before the<br>
+Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the Object of Universal Attention—Presents<br>
+from Kings—The Liederkreis—Madame von Ertmann—Romulus<br>
+and the Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for<br>
+London—Opinion of the English People—His Missa Solemnis—His<br>
+Own Opinion of it—Its Completion—Characteristics—The Ninth Symphony</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a>-<a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE LAST QUARTETS</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The Great<br>
+Concert of May, 1821—Preparation for It—Small Returns—Beethoven<br>
+Appreciated—The Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture<br>
+on B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works—His<br>
+Brother Johann—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration of<br>
+Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the Young Man<br>
+Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The “Magnanimous”<br>
+English—Calls a Clergyman—His Death</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph2">LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1770-1794</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His
+Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears
+in Public at the Age of Seven—Error as to His
+Age—Travels in Holland—Studies the Organ in Vienna—His
+Fame Foretold—His Personal Appearance—Meets
+Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian, Elector
+of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual Training—Madame
+von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and
+Haydn—Compositions written in Vienna.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ludwig van Beethoven</span> was baptized in
+Bonn on the 17th of December, 1770. We
+know only this the date of his baptism, with
+any certainty, and hence the 17th of December
+is assumed to be his birthday likewise.</p>
+
+<p>His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a
+singer in the chapel of the Elector, in Bonn.
+The family, however, had come originally from
+the Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather
+came to Bonn in 1732 after willfully leaving the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>
+parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
+had attracted attention as a bass singer in the
+church and the theater, and was made director
+of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
+had founded a family, was earning a respectable
+livelihood, and had won for himself the
+personal regard of the community. He did,
+besides, a small business in wines, but this,
+which was only accessory to his calling as a
+musician, contributed to undermine both his
+own happiness and his son’s. His wife, Josepha
+Poll, fell a victim to the vice of intemperance,
+and, in consequence, it at last became
+necessary to confine her in a convent in
+Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
+son inherited the vice of his mother.</p>
+
+<p>“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting
+of wine from a very early age,” says the
+account of his playmates. It was not long before
+this weakness got the upper hand to such
+an extent that his family and home suffered
+greatly. It finally led to his discharge from
+his position. Stephan van Breuning, our own
+Beethoven’s friend in youth, saw him, on one
+occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the
+hands of the police in the public streets.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s
+youth, which put the strength of his
+mind as well as the goodness of his heart to
+the test. For in consequence of the very respectable
+position occupied by his grandfather,
+of his own early appointment as court organist,
+and of the rapid development of his
+talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
+the higher classes, and was employed in the
+capacity of musician in the families of the
+nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
+it happened that he and his two younger
+brothers were obliged to take their intoxicated
+father home, they always performed that
+disagreeable task with the utmost tenderness.
+He was never known to utter a hard or unkind
+word about the man who had made his
+youth so sunless, and he never failed to resent
+it when a third person spoke uncharitably of
+his father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain
+haughtiness, however, which marked his disposition
+as a youth and a man, are traceable to
+these early harsh experiences.</p>
+
+<p>And who knows the complications which
+caused misfortune to get the upper hand here!
+True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>
+was of a volatile and flighty disposition;” but
+even his playmates, when he was a boy, had
+nothing bad to say of his character. Anger
+and stubbornness seem, indeed, to have been
+the inheritance of his Netherland nature; and
+these our hero also displayed to no small extent.
+But while the grandfather had earned a very
+good position for himself, and always so deported
+himself that young Beethoven might take
+him as an example, and loved to speak of him
+as a “man of honor,” his father was never
+more than a singer in the chapel, on a small
+salary. But, notwithstanding his comparatively
+humble social position, he had made a
+mistake in marrying below his station.</p>
+
+<p>Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena
+Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to wife, in 1763.
+She is described as a “pretty and slender
+woman.” She had served as a chambermaid,
+for a time, in some of the families of the great,
+had married young, and was left a widow at the
+age of nineteen. Johann’s marriage to this
+woman was not acceptable to the court <i>capellmeister</i>,
+and so it happened that he was obliged
+to leave the home in which he had thus far
+lived with his lonely father, and move into a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>
+wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn
+street, where his son Ludwig, the subject of
+this sketch, was born.</p>
+
+<p>The young wife brought no property to her
+husband. Several children were born to the
+newly married couple in quick succession. Of
+these, Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766,
+play some part in Beethoven’s life. The growth
+of the family was so rapid that it was not long
+before they felt the burthen of pecuniary
+distress. The grandfather, who was well to
+do, helped them, at first. His stately figure
+in his red coat, with his massive head and “big
+eyes,” remained fixed in the boy Ludwig’s
+memory, although he was only three years of
+age when his grandfather died. The child
+was, indeed, tenderly attached to him. As
+the father’s poverty increased, he made some
+efforts to improve his condition. But they
+were of no avail; for his deportment was only
+“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.”
+He now had recourse to teaching, and obtained
+employment in the theater, for he played the
+violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up
+what was left of his little fortune. Their
+furniture and table ware followed their silver-service<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>
+and linen—“which one might have
+drawn through a ring,”—to the pawn-shop;
+and now the father’s poverty contributed only
+to make him, more and more, the victim of
+his weakness for the cup.</p>
+
+<p>But there was even now one star of hope in
+the dreary firmament of his existence—his son
+Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
+itself in very early childhood, and could not,
+by any possibility, escape the observation of
+the father, who, after all, was himself a “good
+musician.” And, although the father was not
+destined to live to see his son in the zenith of
+his success, it was his son’s talent alone that
+saved the family from ruin and their name
+from oblivion, for with the birth of Beethoven’s
+younger brother, Johann, and of a sister
+who died shortly after, the circumstances of
+the family became still more straightened.
+Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
+and it occurred to the father to train his son
+to be a second little Mozart, and, by traveling
+with him, earn the means of subsistence of
+which the family stood so sorely in need.
+And so the boy was rigidly kept to his lessons
+on the piano and violin. His daily exercises<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>
+on these instruments must have been a severer
+task on him than would seem to be necessary
+in a regular course of musical training.
+He used to be taken from his playing
+with other children to practice, and friends of
+his youth tell us how they saw him standing
+on a stool before the piano and cry while he
+practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called
+into requisition in his education, and the expostulations
+of friends could not dissuade the
+father from such relentless severity. But the
+end was attained. Regular and persevering
+exercise, laid the foundation of a skill in the
+art of music, which led him before the public
+when only seven years of age. On the
+26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
+day of the month on which Beethoven died),
+the father announced, in a paper published in
+Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would
+have the honor to wait on the public with several
+concertos for the piano, when, he flattered
+himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
+audience a rich treat; and this all the
+more since he had been favored with a hearing
+by the whole court, who listened to him with
+the greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>
+the surprise, was made one year younger in this
+announcement than he was in reality; and this
+led Beethoven himself into an error as to his
+age, which he did not discover until he was
+nearly forty.</p>
+
+<p>We need say but little concerning his other
+teachers when a youth. His great school was
+want, which urged him to follow and practice
+his art, so that he might master it, and, with
+its assistance, make his way through the
+world. When Beethoven grew to be eight
+years of age, he had as a teacher, in addition
+to his father, the vocalist Tobias Pfeiffer, for a
+whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven
+family. He was a skillful pianist. Beethoven
+considered him one of the teachers to whom
+he was most indebted, and was subsequently
+instrumental in procuring assistance for him
+from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
+the nature of his instruction, and of the mode
+of living in the family, from the fact, attested by
+Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently happened
+that Pfeiffer, after coming home with
+the father late in the night from the tavern,
+took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him
+at the piano practicing till morning. Yet the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>
+success attendant on this instruction was such,
+even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and
+his teacher, who performed on the flute, played
+variations together, the people in the streets
+stopped and listened to their delightful music.
+In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he
+traveled to Holland with his mother, played
+in the houses of the great, and astonished
+every one by his skill. The profits from this
+journey, however, cannot have been very
+large. When the boy was questioned about
+them, he replied: “The Dutch are a niggardly
+set; I shall never visit Holland again.”</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, he turned his attention
+also to the study of the organ. Under the
+guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
+neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon
+became so proficient on that instrument, that
+he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
+service. But his principal teachers here
+were the old electoral court organist, van den
+Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
+Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition
+the latter was the first to exercise any real influence
+on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
+years, thanked him for the good advice he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>
+given him—advice which had contributed so
+much to his success in the “divine art.” He
+concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If
+I should turn out some day to be a great man,
+you will have contributed to making me such.”
+Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an
+organist, he had all the characteristics of the
+North German artists; but, on the other hand,
+he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style
+introduced by Ph. E. Bach. He was a
+man of broad general education, and the form
+of his artistic productions was almost faultless.
+Such was young Beethoven’s proficiency at the
+age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was able to
+appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave
+the way for his appointment as court organist.
+We owe to him the first published account of
+Beethoven, and from that account we learn
+that the great foundation of his instruction
+was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,” that
+<i>ne plus ultra</i> of counterpoint and technic. He
+first made a reputation in Vienna by his
+masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
+instruction he had received in composition,
+bore fruit also, and some variations to a march
+and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this
+time in print.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>In the account of Beethoven referred to
+above, and which was written in 1783, Neefe
+said that that young “genius” was deserving
+of support that he might be able to travel,
+and that he would certainly be another Mozart.
+But the development of his genius soon
+took a wider scope. He even, on one occasion,
+when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
+a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the
+best pieces of the age were produced. This was
+at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
+his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily
+greater. We are told that when he became
+court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
+made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the
+key entirely during the performance of divine
+service, by his own bold modulations. True,
+the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius”
+in the future, but he, no less than his <i>capellmeister</i>
+Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
+extraordinary capacity of the young man.</p>
+
+<p>Incidents of this kind may have suggested the
+propriety of giving him the instruction appropriate
+for a really great master of art; and, indeed,
+we find the court organist of Bonn with
+Mozart in Vienna, in the spring of 1787.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>Beethoven’s appearance was not what would
+be called imposing. He was small of stature,
+muscular and awkward, with a short snub
+nose. When he was introduced to Mozart,
+the latter was rather cool in his praise of his
+musical performances, considering them pieces
+learned by heart simply for purposes of parade.
+Beethoven, thereupon requested Mozart
+to give him a subject, that he might try his
+powers of musical improvisation. Charmed
+with the ability displayed in the execution of
+the task thus imposed on his young visitor,
+Mozart exclaimed: “Mark that young man!
+the world will hear of him some day.”
+Beethoven, however, received very little instruction
+from Mozart, who was so deeply engaged,
+just at this time, with the composition
+of his <i>Don Giovanni</i>, and so sorely tried by
+adverse circumstances, that he played very little
+for him, and could give him only a few lessons.
+Besides, Beethoven’s mother was now
+taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks he
+had to return home, where other blows of a
+hard fate awaited him. His kind, good mother,
+was snatched from him by death, and his
+father’s unfortunate weakness for strong drink<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>
+obtained such a mastery over him that he was
+deprived of his position shortly after. The
+duty of supporting his two younger brothers
+was thus imposed on Ludwig, the eldest.</p>
+
+<p>Young Beethoven was thus taught many a
+severe lesson early in life, in the hard school
+of adversity. But his trials were not without
+advantage to him. They gave to his character
+that iron texture which upheld him under
+the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to
+Bonn a misfortune. He there found the very
+advantages which he had gone to seek in the
+musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian
+Francis, Elector of Cologne, the friend and
+patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes
+of the preceding century, who made their
+courts the sanctuary of culture and of art.</p>
+
+<p>Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria
+Theresa. He had received the careful training,
+for which that imperial house was noted,
+and he found in Joseph II an example in
+every way worthy of imitation. He was as
+faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to
+his duties as a ruler, and as adverse to what
+he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
+Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>
+who had left the country in a state
+of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
+endeavored to bring order out of chaos
+and to spread prosperity among his people.
+A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court
+as long as he presided in it. He was still
+young, not much over thirty, and a man of
+the truest principles. Speaking of him as
+“that most humane and best of princes,” a
+contemporary writer says: “People had grown
+accustomed to think of Cologne as a land of
+darkness, but when they came to the Elector’s
+court, they quickly changed their mind.”
+The members of the orchestra of the court
+especially, among whom our young court organist
+is to be reckoned, were, we are told,
+very intelligent, right thinking men, of elegant
+manners and unexceptionable conduct.</p>
+
+<p>The Elector had opened the University in
+1776, and established a public reading-room,
+which he visited with no more ostentation
+than any one else. “All these institutions, as
+I looked upon it, had sworn allegiance to an
+unknown genius of humanity, and, for the
+first time in my life, my mind had a glimmer
+of the meaning and majesty of science,” writes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>
+the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could
+Beethoven have thought differently? He had,
+it is true, devoted himself so exclusively to
+music that he had made very little progress in
+anything else. In the use of figures he always
+found great difficulty, and his spelling was
+worse than could be easily tolerated even in
+his own day, when orthography was a rather
+rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
+French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher
+intellectual culture which, at this time, swept
+through Bonn and influenced him likewise
+through his intimate intercourse with the most
+highly cultivated people of the city, soon lifted
+him to heights unattained by other artists
+and musicians of his century—heights from
+which he continually discerned new fields of
+action. As a consequence of this intercourse
+with the learned, he acquired intellectual tastes
+in various directions, and so seriously occupied
+himself with things intellectual that they became
+a necessity to his nature. He tells us
+himself that, without laying the least claim to
+real learning, it had been his endeavor from
+childhood to acquaint himself with what was
+best and wisest in every age. But these intellectual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>
+leanings did not prevent him from being,
+as the painter Kuegelgen said of himself,
+lovingly devoted to his art. And his own
+beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated
+in Bonn with a greater earnestness and
+devotion than any other.</p>
+
+<p>The writer referred to above, speaking of
+the Elector, says: “Not only did he play himself,
+but he was an enthusiastic lover of music.
+It seemed as if he could never tire of hearing
+it. Whenever he went to a concert, he was
+the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
+And no wonder; for the musical instruction
+given to the children of Maria
+Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music
+in Vienna was at that time at its height.
+That city was the scene of the labors of Gluck,
+Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only
+good music to be heard in the “cabinet” at
+Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished
+pianist, contributed his share to this; and
+we need not be surprised to find him employed
+by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not musicians alone who were
+benefited by prince’s patronage. No sooner
+did the condition of the country leave him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>
+the necessary leisure, and the state of its
+finances afford him the necessary means, than
+he turned his best attention to the theater and
+the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian
+Francis had organized an orchestra, and
+our young court organist took a place in it as
+a player of the tenor violin. The violinist,
+Ries, and Simrock, a performer on the French
+horn, were also members of it. Ries and
+Simrock had henceforth much to do with
+Mozart. The following year, a troupe visited
+Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles,
+as well as Gluck’s <i>Alceste and Orpheus</i>.
+They were followed by Grossmann, a person
+of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished
+place in the history of German
+dramatic art. His repertory included the
+plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and
+Goethe, with all of whom Beethoven thus became
+acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
+Francis established a national theater,
+and, dating from this, dramatic poetry and
+music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it
+took its place, in this respect, side by side with
+Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and became
+a school well calculated to foster the great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>
+abilities of Beethoven. In the orchestra we
+find such men as Andreas, Bernhard Romberg
+and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as
+a writer on the theory of music. The latter
+was, at this time, Beethoven’s most intimate
+friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come
+upon the stage, many of whom subsequently
+filled all Germany with their fame. Dramatic
+works of every description appeared. There was
+Martin’s <i>Tree of Diana</i>, Mozart’s <i>Elopement
+from the Seraglio</i>, Salieri’s <i>Grotto of Trophonius</i>,
+Dittersdorf’s <i>Doctor and Apothecary</i>,
+and <i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, Gluck’s <i>Pilgrim
+of Mecca</i>, besides Paisiello’s <i>King Theodore</i>,
+and greatest of all, <i>Don Giovanni</i>. The music
+“pleased connoisseurs;” and <i>Figaro’s Marriage</i>
+greatly charmed both singers and the members
+of the orchestra, who vied with one another
+to do justice to that beautiful opera.
+“The strength of our theater,” says a writer
+of the time, characteristically and simply,
+“lay in our opera.”</p>
+
+<p>This continual contemplation of “characters
+in tone” played a decided part in the
+development of an artist who was destined to
+infuse into instrumental music so much of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>
+poetical and even of dramatic life. We are
+informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating
+character in the language of music was so
+great, even at this time, that when improvising,
+which he was very fond of doing, he was
+frequently asked “to describe the character of
+some well-known person.” One distinguishing
+peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a
+marked influence in the development of the
+great symphonist of the future, Beethoven.
+We refer to what has been called “the accurate
+observation of musical light and shade, or
+of the <i>forte</i> and <i>piano</i>.” This musical peculiarity
+was introduced into the Bonn orchestra
+by a former <i>capellmeister</i>, Mattioli, “a man
+full of fire and refined feeling,” who had
+learned orchestral accentuation and declamation
+from Gluck, and whose musical enthusiasm
+caused him to be considered the superior
+of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such
+a part in Mozart’s life, and who had originated
+this mode of musical delivery in Germany.
+He was succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under
+whose energetic leadership the Bonn orchestra
+reached its highest point of perfection. In
+the autumn of 1791, we find that entire orchestra<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>
+in Mergentheim, the seat of the German
+order of which Maximilian Francis was
+Grand Master; and we have an account of it
+from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear
+idea of Beethoven’s life as a student.</p>
+
+<p>Our informant tells us, in the first place,
+that he was very much impressed by an octet
+of wind instruments. All eight players were,
+he says, masters who had reached a high degree
+of truth and perfection, especially in the
+sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one
+of Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How
+Ries infused life and spirit into all by his sure
+and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What
+once could be heard only in Mannheim, we
+are told, was now heard here—the close observance
+of the <i>piano</i> and the <i>forte</i> and the
+<i>rinforzando</i>, the swell and gradual growth of
+tone, followed by the dropping of the same
+from the utmost intensity to the merest breath.
+Bernhard Romberg’s playing is lauded for
+“perfection of expression and its fine shades
+of feeling which appeal to the heart;” his
+cousin Andreas’s for “taste in delivery,” and
+the true art of his “musical painting.” Can
+we wonder that Beethoven’s emulation of, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>
+struggling for the mastery with such men
+contributed constantly to develop his genius?
+He is praised for the peculiar expression of
+his playing, and above all for the speaking,
+significant, expressive character of his fancy.
+Our informant says, in closing his account: “I
+found him wanting in nothing which goes to
+make the great artist. All the superior performers
+of this orchestra are his admirers.
+They are all ears when he plays, but the man
+himself is exceedingly modest and without
+pretension of any kind.”</p>
+
+<p>We have now seen what was Beethoven’s
+technical training both by practice and example,
+on the organ and the piano, in the theater
+and the orchestra, and how all these were
+to him a school of musical composition; for
+the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with
+Mozart and Haydn as we of to-day are with
+Beethoven. How thoroughly he comprehended
+and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested
+by what he once said to John Cramer,
+the only piano player to whom Beethoven himself
+applied terms of high praise. The two
+were walking, in 1799, in the park in Vienna,
+listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>
+“Cramer! Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed,
+when he heard the simple and beautiful theme
+near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish
+anything like that.” “What a modest
+man!” was the reply. This leads us to
+say something of the few beautiful, purely
+human gifts which were the fruit Beethoven
+enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.</p>
+
+<p>In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with
+her four children, who were only a little
+younger than our court organist. Beethoven
+and one of the sons, Stephan, received instruction
+in music from Ries, and were thus thrown
+together. But it was not long before our
+young artist himself was called upon to teach
+the piano in the family of Madame von
+Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his
+good mother had succumbed to her many sufferings
+and sorrows, we learn from the first
+letter of his that has come down to us. We
+there read: “She was so good and amiable a
+mother to me! She was my best friend. O,
+who was happier than I while I could yet
+pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
+was once some one to hear me when I said
+‘mother!’ But to whom can I address that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>
+name now? Only to the silent pictures of
+her which my fancy paints.” But Madame
+von Breuning became a second mother to him;
+and what her home was, we are informed by
+Doctor Wegeler, afterwards husband of
+Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore,
+for a time one of Beethoven’s pupils. He
+writes: “Her home was pervaded by an
+atmosphere of unconstrained refinement, spite
+of an occasional outburst of the petulance of
+youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early
+to the writing of little poems. Stephan did the
+same thing at a much later date, and successfully.
+The useful and agreeable were found combined
+in the little social entertainments of
+family friends. It was not long before
+Beethoven was treated as one of the children.
+He spent the greater part of the day in Madame
+Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the
+night. He felt at home in the family, and everything
+about him contributed to cheer him and
+to develop his mind.” When it is known, on
+the authority of the same Doctor Wegeler,
+that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
+that Beethoven first became acquainted with
+German literature, that there he received his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>
+first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to estimate
+the value to him of the friendship of
+the Breuning family—a friendship which was
+never interrupted for a moment during his
+long life.</p>
+
+<p>It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse
+with the Breuning family that he felt
+the first, charming intimations of the tender
+passion. Wegeler makes mention of two
+young ladies, one of whom, a pretty, cheerful
+and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of
+Cologne, was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s.
+She took delight in teasing our young
+musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,</div>
+<div class="verse">Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,</div>
+<div class="verse">Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections
+was a captain in the Austrian army, by the
+name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823,
+in the written conversations of our deaf master.
+He was just as much taken with the
+sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold),<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>
+but to no purpose. He called his love for her
+a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
+after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes
+about it. What he thought of his acquaintance
+with the Breuning family and
+these two young persons may be inferred from
+the words in which he dedicated the variations
+<i>Se vuol ballare</i>, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore
+Breuning) in 1793: “May this work,”
+he says, “serve to recall the time when I
+spent so many and such happy hours in your
+home.”</p>
+
+<p>Besides the home of the Breunings, in which
+Beethoven was always so welcome, we may
+mention another—that of Count Waldstein, to
+whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The
+count was very friendly to Beethoven. He
+was aware of his genius, and, on that account,
+afforded him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to
+spare the artist’s feelings, this assistance was
+made to have the appearance of coming from
+the Elector. It may be that it was this same
+amiable and art-loving young Austrian who endeavored
+to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the
+one place in the world in which he could receive
+the final touch to his musical education,—Vienna.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>
+The very multitude of Beethoven’s
+ideas, and the height to which his intellect
+had soared, showed him that he was far from
+having reached perfection in the artistic representation
+of those ideas. His readiness of execution
+and his wonderful power of improvisation,
+even now, assured him victory wherever he
+went. But the small number of compositions
+which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is sufficient
+proof that he did not feel sure of himself
+as a composer. And yet he had now reached
+an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
+composer of operas.</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to
+London, passed through Bonn, and was presented
+to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis,
+in person. He returned in the summer of
+1792, and as Mozart had died in the meantime,
+nothing was more natural than that
+Beethoven should apply to the greatest living
+musician for instruction. The Elector assisted
+him; and we may divine how the young musician’s
+heart must have swelled, now that he
+had entered the real wrestling-place in his
+art, from what, as we stated before, he said to
+his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become a great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>
+man,” etc. But what was there that is not
+expected from such a person? Waldstein
+expressed the “realization of his long contested
+wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s
+album: “By uninterrupted industry, thou
+wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the
+hands of Haydn.” When the wars of the
+Revolution swept over the boundaries of
+France, the excitement produced was great
+and universal. Beethoven was affected only
+by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of
+the grotesque ridiculousness of the <i>sans
+culottes</i> and the blood of the guillotine.
+After a short journey, in November, 1792,
+Vienna afforded him a safe retreat which he
+never afterwards left. It was not long before
+the French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian
+Francis was obliged to flee, and thus
+every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home
+was lost.</p>
+
+<p>It now became imperative that he should
+take care of himself. His two brothers were
+provided for—Karl was a musician and Johann
+an apothecary. They soon followed him
+to Vienna, where it was not long before they
+renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>
+But his own constant endeavor was to be the
+creative artist that, as he became more firmly
+convinced every day, he was born to be. His
+studies under Haydn, then under Schenk, with
+whom the readers of the Life of Mozart are
+familiar from his connection with the opera of
+the <i>Magic Flute</i>, afterwards under the dry-as-dust
+Albrechtsberger, the teacher of counterpoint,
+and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy,
+Salieri—were earnestly and zealously pursued,
+as is evident from what he has left after him.
+But even now his mind was too richly developed
+and his fancy too lofty to learn anything
+except by independent action. Ten of
+Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived
+in Bonn; but, during his first sojourn in
+Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from
+his pen, and we cannot but suppose that the
+germs of many of these last were sown during
+the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We
+conclude this chapter with a list of the works
+here referred to.</p>
+
+<p>Besides his first attempts at musical composition
+already mentioned, a concerto for the
+piano written in 1784, and three quartets for
+the piano written in 1785, which were afterwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>
+made use of in the sonatas op. 2, we
+must add, as certainly dating from this period
+of Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count
+Waldstein (1791), a trio for the piano in E
+flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
+in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this
+op. as Goethe’s <i>Mailied</i>, a part of the Bagatellen
+op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the two
+preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803,
+the variations <i>Vieni Amore</i> (1790), a funeral
+cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790), and
+one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of
+which was submitted to Haydn and which he
+thought a great deal of—both of these latter
+compositions are lost—an allegro and minuet
+for two flutes, a rondino for reed instruments
+and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in
+1796.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to these, there are, in all probability,
+many other compositions which were
+completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn in
+Vienna, and published at a still later date; the
+octet op. 103, after which the quintet op.
+4 was patterned before 1797, the serenade op.
+8, which contained the germ of his nocturne
+op. 42; the Variations op. 66, on <i>Ein Maedchen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>
+oder Weibchen</i>, from the <i>Magic Flute</i>
+(published in 1798); the variations on <i>God
+Save the King</i>, the Romance for the violin, both
+of which appeared in 1805, when Beethoven’s
+brother secretly published much of his music;
+the variation on <i>Se vuol ballare</i> from Mozart’s
+<i>Figaro</i>; the <i>Es War Einmal</i> from Dittersdroff’s
+<i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, the “See He
+Comes,” the Messias, and a theme by Count
+Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797), the <i>Easy
+Sonata</i> in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von
+Breuning; the prelude in F minor (appeared
+in 1805), and the sextet for wind instruments,
+op. 71, which appeared in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point
+to three hundred works which he had composed,
+among them the poetical sonatas of his
+youth. How little of sunshine and leisure
+must there have been in a life which, spite of
+its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
+reaped so little fruit! And even if we
+fix the date when the three trios op. 1, were
+composed in this period, when Beethoven was
+for the first time taught the meaning of the
+world and history, by the stormy movements
+of the last decade of the last century; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>
+admit that the two concertos for the piano
+(op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
+wonderful fantasias with which he charmed
+the hearts and minds of the people of Bonn
+at that time, yet how little did he achieve!
+This fact is the most convincing proof of the
+truth of Beethoven’s own assertion, that fortune
+did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving
+his musical training out of consideration,
+Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
+Seldom was it brightened for any length of
+time by the smiles of joy.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1795-1806.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The
+Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First
+Great Exploits—Plans for Future Work—Decides to Remove
+to the North—New Compositions—His Improvisations—Disappointment
+in North Germany—Prince Louis
+Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His
+Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The
+Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness
+Again—Thoughts of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning
+of His Music—His “Will”—Disappointment—Meaning
+of the Eroica and Fidelio—The Lenore Overture—Other
+Compositions.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> golden age of music in Vienna had not
+passed away when Beethoven came to that
+city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility,
+and a great many circles of the cultured found
+in music the very soul of their intellectual life
+and of a nobler existence. A consequence of
+this was that more attention was paid to chamber
+music than any other; and we accordingly
+find that the greater number of Beethoven’s
+compositions, written at this period, are of that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>
+style of music. Their very dedications tell us
+much of the social circles of Vienna, and of
+the persons who graced them.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, we have the three trios op. 1,
+dedicated to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.
+The man who had been the pupil and friend
+of Mozart might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute
+found so soon for that departed genius.
+A quartet consisting of the able artists
+Schuppanzigh, Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played
+at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler informs
+us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with
+the Prince, who, at a later date, paid him a
+salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
+on <i>Seht er Kommt</i>, (See he comes) 1797,
+were dedicated to his consort, the Princess
+Christiane, <i>nee</i> Thun. She prized Beethoven
+very highly, and, as he once said of her himself,
+would have liked to encase him in glass,
+that he might be screened from the defiling
+breath and touch of the unworthy. The first
+three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
+and they introduce us to his special patron,
+the Prince Esterhazy, with whom Beethoven
+was not very intimate, although the commission
+to write the mass op. 86 was given by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>
+Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
+well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24
+(1800), and the string quintet op. 29 (1801),
+are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much
+in Beethoven’s life to show that he was on
+terms of close friendship with this rich “merchant.”
+The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated
+to Countess Keglevics. The first concerto,
+which was finished in 1794, is dedicated to the
+same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi.
+The trios op. 9, as well as the brilliant
+sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
+to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven
+himself called <i>le premier Mecene de sa muse</i>,
+and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort.
+To the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the
+trio op. 11, composed the same year, and the
+sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers
+in Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky
+is evidenced by the dedication to him of
+op. 14, the <i>Pathetique</i> (1799). In it we
+find the earliest expression of Beethoven’s
+view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
+innermost nature, calling to him to live a
+higher life. To Lichnowsky, likewise, was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>
+dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful
+funeral march (1802). The two lovely sonatas
+op. 14 of the year 1799, as well as the sonata
+for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to
+the Countess Braun, whose husband gave
+Beethoven, some years after, the commission
+for the <i>Fidelio</i>; and the quintet op. 16 which
+was finished in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg.
+When we connect the name of Prince
+Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed
+in 1797-1800; that of Baron von
+Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord
+with the first symphony op. 21 (1800),
+that of the learned von Sonnenfels with the so-called
+pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see
+the force of the remark made by J. F.
+Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
+period loved and appreciated music better probably
+than any other in the history of the
+world. That they did not continue to do so
+is due entirely to the fact of the general disturbance
+of their pecuniary circumstances consequent
+on the wars which came to an end
+only in 1815, and which diminished their favorable
+influence on the cultivation of the art of
+music. But our artist had all the advantages<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>
+of this noble patronage. He spared no pains
+nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his mind
+could not rest in the mere enjoyment of
+music. It sought other and higher spheres.
+His art was destined to absorb into itself the
+whole world of culture, to take an active part
+in the march of history and co-operate in giving
+expression to the ideas of life. The first
+real exploits of our artist were the <i>Eroica</i> and
+the <i>Fidelio</i> with the Leonore overture; but
+the path which led to them was one on which
+those immediately surrounding him could not
+very well follow him, and one which subsequently
+isolated him personally more and more
+from his fellow men.</p>
+
+<p>It was an ill-defined longing for this starry
+path of a higher intellectual existence which
+brought him to the north of Germany, to
+Berlin, after he had finished the principal
+parts of the course in music under Haydn,
+Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he
+did not meet with recognition and remuneration
+in his new home. But, after all, the
+recognition and remuneration he met with
+there were such as a virtuoso might expect.
+For the present, neither the public nor music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>
+publishers would have much to do with his
+compositions. Writing to Schiller’s wife, the
+young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of
+him: “So far as my acquaintance with him
+goes, he is made for the great and the sublime.
+Haydn has said that he would give him great
+operas, and soon be compelled himself to stop
+composing.” He informs her, at the same
+time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s
+Hymn to Joy—<i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—to
+music. We thus see that he, even
+now, harbored those great ideas which engaged
+him at the close of his labors, in the composition
+of the Ninth Symphony. There were as
+yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of
+the intellectual awakening to which Germany
+is indebted for its earliest classical literature,
+and the period of its great thinkers in the west
+and the north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s
+own mind was too full of the “storm and
+stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful
+harmony and the warmth which had made
+such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
+in South-German Austria. But in the
+North, the memory of “old Fritz” still lived;
+there the stern rule of mind and conscience,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>
+generated by Protestantism, still prevailed,
+while the firm frame-work of his own art, the
+counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first
+father of harmony,” as he calls him himself,
+was there preserved, apparently, in its full
+strength. In addition to all this, the court
+there was fond of music, and King Frederick
+William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
+the greatest master of his time, in Berlin;
+while Beethoven, since the Elector’s flight
+from Bonn, had no further prospects in his
+home on the Rhine. He, therefore, decided
+to remove to the North.</p>
+
+<p>We find him on his journey thither at the
+beginning of 1796. “My music secures me
+friends and regard—what more do I want?”
+he writes from Prague to his brother Johann,
+who, in the meantime, had entered into the
+employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He
+here composed the aria <i>Ah Perfido</i> (op. 65).
+On his way to Berlin he passed through
+Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these
+two cities, we have no information. The king
+received him very graciously; he played a
+few times at court and composed the sonatas
+for cello, op. 5, because the king himself played<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>
+the violincello. The very first impression received
+by Beethoven seems to have been decisive.
+K. Czerny, to whom he taught the
+piano, tells us something from his own recollection
+and observation about him, which is
+very characteristic of the man, and shows how
+sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent
+expectations in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation
+was very brilliant, astonishing in
+the highest degree.... No matter in what
+society he was thrown, he made such an impression
+on all his hearers that it frequently
+happened that not a dry eye was to be seen,
+while many broke into sobs. There was something
+wonderful in his expression, besides the
+beauty and originality of his ideas, and the
+highly intellectual way he had of presenting
+them. When he had finished an improvisation
+of this kind he could break out into a fit
+of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers on the
+emotions he had excited. At times he even felt
+injured by those signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’
+he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled children?’
+and for that reason alone he once declined
+an invitation extended to him by the
+king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
+kind.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment
+of a very peculiar kind here. Instead of the
+manliness of character which he, coming from
+the softer South, expected to find in the North,
+he was confronted with a voluptuous luxury
+to which his art was only a handmaid, and
+with an apparent surfeit of music, the natural
+outgrowth of the French influence due to Voltaire’s
+residence in Berlin. Such was not the
+spirit of the new era which animated himself,
+and for the operation of which he was seeking a
+proper theater of action. The king himself
+did all in his power to make Gluck and
+Mozart settle in Berlin, and Handel’s oratorios
+were played even at the court concerts. But
+how could a man like Beethoven have worked
+side by side with the ruling leaders in music—with
+a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person
+in Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man,
+in the full sense of the word, was Prince Louis
+Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked
+of the prince’s playing that “it was
+not kingly or princely, but only that of a good
+piano player.” But it is probable that from
+the prince he borrowed the chivalric and, at
+the same time, poetico-enthusiastic character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>
+found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was
+finished in 1800 and dedicated to the prince,
+“the most human of human beings.”</p>
+
+<p>He played twice in the Singing Academy
+before its conductor, Fasch, and his successor,
+Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he
+again brought the tears to the eyes of his
+hearers. But he clearly saw from the example
+of these two principal representatives of
+the more serious taste for music in Berlin, that
+it was not Bach’s spirit which he was in search
+of that ruled there, but only a caricature of
+it; and this last was by no means a counterpoise
+to the Italian style of music, which still
+held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna
+disappointed in every respect, but with all the
+greater confidence in himself. He never again
+left Austria for good. It became the scene of
+his grandest achievements, and it was not long
+before their history began.</p>
+
+<p>In a small memorandum book used by
+Beethoven on his journey from Bonn to
+Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take
+courage. Spite of all physical weakness, my
+mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
+year, and must now be all that I can be.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>
+Nothing must be left undone.” The father
+always represented Beethoven to be younger
+than he really was. Even in 1810, the son
+would not admit that he was forty years of age.
+The words quoted above must, therefore, have
+been written in the winter of 1796 or 1797;
+and this fact invests them with a greater significance
+than they would otherwise possess;
+for our artist now saw that, without the shadow
+of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
+abiding places; and he, therefore, strained
+every nerve, regardless of what the consequences
+might be, “to be a great man sometime;”
+that is, to accomplish something really good in
+music. This regardlessness of consequences
+manifested itself especially in the little care he
+seemed to take of his physical well-being. A
+friend, who had every opportunity to observe
+him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that
+“in the summer of 1796, he came home
+almost overpowered by the heat, tore open the
+doors and windows of the house, took off his
+coat and vest and seated himself at an open
+window to cool himself. The consequence of
+his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which
+ultimately settled on the organs of hearing.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>
+From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
+It is possible that the first symptoms
+of his deafness did not appear as early as
+1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into
+the last decade of the last century, that it was
+brought about by heedlessness of his health, and
+that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
+His genius was so absorbed in his music,
+that he too frequently forgot to take care of the
+physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan
+von Breuning remarked of him, that “his
+travels had contributed to mature his character;
+that he was a better judge of men, and
+had learned to appreciate the value, but, at the
+same time, the rarity of good friends.” The
+hard trials of life had added to the earnestness
+of his disposition, and he was awakening to a
+full sense of what his own duty in this world
+was. This leads us to the first great and memorable
+work of his genius—to the <i>Eroica</i>, followed
+soon after by the symphony in C minor.</p>
+
+<p>When, in the year 1806, one of his friends
+informed Beethoven of Napoleon’s victory at
+Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
+understand the art of war as well as I do the
+art of music. If I did I certainly would conquer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>
+him.” These words express a rivalry
+almost personal in its nature, and could have
+been spoken only by a fool or by a man of
+power not unlike that of Napoleon himself.
+And, indeed, leaving out of consideration men
+of genius like Goethe and Schiller, whose
+fame had been long established on a firm
+foundation, there were among his contemporaries
+men of sovereign ambition, only one
+person, Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any
+great impression on a man who had chosen
+for his motto: “Power is the moral code of
+men who distinguish themselves above others;
+and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
+brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by
+the General of the glorious French Republic,
+who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
+Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the
+throne of Sweden in our day, had participated
+in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
+Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of
+1798. He was young; by his origin he belonged
+to the middle class; he was the representative
+of the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge,
+unconstrained, in personal intercourse
+with whomsoever he pleased.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer,
+to whom Beethoven’s <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op.
+47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
+was very natural that once Bernadotte and
+Kreutzer became acquainted with Beethoven,
+their intercourse with him and their friendship
+for him, should have been more than
+usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was sincerely
+devoted to Napoleon, and who must
+have felt himself drawn still more closely to
+Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
+general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating
+the exploits of his hero by a symphony.
+Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler,
+in 1823, and his account is corroborated
+by other facts, that such was the first impulse
+to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But the advocate of power was destined soon
+to swell to the proportions of the hero of intellectual
+courage. “For thus does fate knock
+at the gates.” Beethoven used these words in
+1823, in speaking “with uncontrollable enthusiasm”
+of that wonderful <i>motive</i> at the
+opening of the symphony in C minor. The
+last movement of the work, the fanfare-like
+<i>finale</i>, so expressive of the joy of victory,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>
+shows that he here described a victory indeed,
+the surmounting of the obstacles and darkness
+of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
+consisted only of “the infirmities of the
+body.” The sketches of this movement, however,
+occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18,
+and hence must have been noted down before
+the year 1800! But the fact that the melody
+of the <i>adagio</i> was also found in that sketch
+shows that he was even then as certain of
+mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of the
+presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of
+the sad prospect of a “wretched” and lonely
+future—a prospect which stirred him to the
+very depths of his soul.</p>
+
+<p>But it was years before these <i>motives</i> took
+shape in his mind. To do justice to the great
+ideas to which they give expression, to the
+heroic victory of power and will over whatever
+opposes them, he had to concentrate and
+strengthen all his powers of mind and heart,
+and to develop his talents by long exercise.
+The portraiture of the struggles and of the
+artistic creations of the next succeeding years
+constitutes the transition to those first great
+heroic deeds—a transition which must be understood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>
+by all who would understand Beethoven’s
+music.</p>
+
+<p>The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven,
+at the close of the last century, outgeneraled
+all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time in
+Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph
+over the renowned pianist Woelffl, in
+1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But
+he did still more towards achieving success by
+his works. His numerous variations won over
+to him many a fair player of the piano, while
+his <i>Adelaide</i>, which appeared in 1797, gained
+for him the hearts of all persons of fine feeling;
+so that Wegeler may have told the simple
+truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never,
+at least so long as I lived in Vienna (1794-96),
+without a love affair; and he occasionally made
+a conquest which it would have been very hard,
+if not impossible, for many a handsome Adonis
+to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked
+man, with the piercing eyes, was possessed
+of a power and beauty more attractive than
+any mere physical charms. And then, there
+was the charm of his sonatas: op. 7, with the
+funeral song in <i>adagio</i>, which he is said to
+have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>
+of op. 10, with its genuine masculine
+profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
+with the mysterious struggle in the <i>allegretto</i>
+in No. II., and the brilliant exultation of victory
+in the <i>allegro</i> in No. III., the tragic song of
+the <i>largo</i>, the gentle grace of the minuet—here
+used exceptionally in the place of the <i>scherzo</i>,
+as we find it already in op. 1; and, last of all,
+the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
+<i>finale</i>. And yet these were followed by the
+<i>Pathetique</i>, with its exquisite and enrapturing
+<i>adagio</i>, and the two beautiful love songs, op.
+14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he
+offered to a society of friends of his art, true
+songs of the soul and pictures of life overflowing;
+by the <i>adagio</i> of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet
+grave scene; by the <i>adagio</i> of No.
+VI., descriptive of the melancholy which, even
+now, began to gather its dark clouds about
+Beethoven himself, whose breast was so well
+attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
+20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21),
+sketched after the style of Haydn, but painted
+with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in
+what we may call Beethoven’s older life, which
+closed with the eighteenth century. The beginning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>
+of the nineteenth opened a new world
+to our artist.</p>
+
+<p>The new world thus opened to Beethoven,
+and the manner in which he himself conceived
+it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
+verses:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige</div>
+<div class="verse">Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,</div>
+<div class="verse">In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!</div>
+<div class="verse">Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,</div>
+<div class="verse">Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,</div>
+<div class="verse">Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.</div>
+<div class="verse">Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,</div>
+<div class="verse">Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,</div>
+<div class="verse">Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And now began for Beethoven a period of
+severe trials, brought upon him by himself.
+Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient
+care of his physical health. His trouble
+with his hearing was increasing, but he paid no
+attention to it. His carelessness in this regard
+reduced him to a condition in which he
+would have found no alleviation and no joy,
+were it not for the inexhaustible resources he
+possessed within himself.</p>
+
+<p>But to understand him fully, we must read
+what he wrote himself, in June, 1801, to the
+“best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>
+Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before.
+He says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He
+is in conflict with nature and with God. Many and
+many a time have I cursed Him because He has made
+His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
+nature, and this to such an extent that what promises
+to be best and most beautiful in life, is destroyed.
+You must know that what was most precious to me,
+my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How sad
+my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved
+is gone! How happy would I now be, if I could only
+hear as I used to hear! If I could, I would fly to
+thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My best years
+will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of
+my youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly
+hoped I would. I must now take refuge in the sadness
+of resignation.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have here the words to the long-drawn
+funereal tones of a song as we find it at the
+beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor
+(<i>Mondschein</i>) sonata op. 27 No. II, which
+belongs to this period. The direct incentive
+to its composition was Seume’s poem, <i>die Beterin</i>
+in which he gives us a description of a
+daughter praying for her noble father, who has
+been condemned to death. But in this painful
+struggle with self, we also hear the storm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>
+of passion, in words as well as in tones. Beethoven’s
+life at this time was one of sorrow.
+He writes: “I can say that I am living a
+miserable life. I have more than once execrated
+my existence. But if possible I shall
+bid defiance to fate, although there will be, I
+know, moments in my life when I shall be
+God’s most unhappy creature.” The thunders
+of power may be heard in the <i>finale</i> of
+that sonata. When it was published, the following
+year, its dedication ran: <i>Alla damigella
+contessa Giulietta Guicciardi</i>. The
+celebrated Giulietta! Her friendship was,
+indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in Beethoven’s
+“wretched life” at this time. As he
+writes himself in the fall of the year 1801:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about
+among men more than I used to. I am indebted for
+this change for the better to a lovely, charming girl
+who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now
+I have had once more some moments of happiness, and
+for the first time in my life I feel that marriage might
+make one happy. Unfortunately, she does not belong
+to my social circle. But if I cannot get married at
+the present time, I shall have to mix more among
+men.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The family of the imperial counsellor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>
+Count Guicciardi, originally from Modena,
+was one of the families of the higher class with
+whom Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance
+through his art. Guicciardi’s wife
+belonged to the Hungarian family of the
+Brunswicks, who were likewise very friendly
+to Beethoven. We shall yet have something
+to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for
+whom and whose sister, the charming Countess
+Deym, the variations for four hands on <i>Ich
+denke dein</i>, were written in 1800. Countess
+Giulietta was in her sixteenth year, and as
+good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg, a
+musician and composer of ballet music. He
+was, however, in such pecuniary straits that
+Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to
+his assistance through a friend. The young
+girl did not give any serious thought to a
+union with the Count, although he belonged
+to her own social circle. The attractions of
+a genuine love had more charms for her. This
+same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s
+soul. He writes to his friend Wegeler:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was
+I not always a sickly man? But, for a time, my physical
+strength has been increasing more than ever before,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>
+and the same is true of my mental power. With
+every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal
+which I feel, but cannot describe. Thus only can I
+live. No rest! I know of no repose but sleep, and it
+sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time to
+sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half
+freed from my trouble and then, a perfectly mature
+man, I shall come to you and renew our old friendship.
+You must see me as happy as it is given me to be
+here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is
+more than I could bear. I shall struggle manfully
+with fate, and be sure, it will not overcome me entirely.
+O, how beautiful it would be to live life over a
+thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which
+lifted him to the height of joy and of intellectual
+delight, we are indebted for those works
+of his which are models of poetic creation.
+What became of the traditional form of the
+sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song
+the meaning of joy and pain and of their
+wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
+op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which
+looks as if thrown off with a single stroke of
+the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
+of fate in the opening chord; the
+jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment of pleasure;
+the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>
+than realization, when misery
+wrings a cry of pain from him, and he breaks
+out in recitative—a form of art never before
+coupled with an instrument, but which is here
+more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy and
+genius have now transformed the mere
+musician into the artist and the poet. Beethoven,
+as the master of the intellectual
+world of tones, began his career with this
+sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
+his every piece is a psychological picture
+of life. The form of the sonata had now
+fully developed the intellectual germ which in
+it lay. It is no longer mere form, but a finite
+vessel holding an infinite intellectual treasure
+as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
+although retained as usual, are henceforth
+only phases and stages of the development of
+that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a
+drama played in the recesses of a human soul—in
+the soul of a man who is forced to taste,
+while still he laughs in his melancholy, the
+tragic contents of the cup of human life during
+every moment of his existence. For thus
+it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow
+endows him with untrammeled serenity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>
+of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent
+of a higher light. A humor that weeps
+through its smiles is henceforth his.</p>
+
+<p>On this sonata followed a symphony with
+the real Beethoven flavor, the second symphony
+(op. 36). It had its origin in the
+“sublime feeling” which “animated” him in
+the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
+also the brilliant <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op. 47).
+This summer of 1802 is a memorable one in
+Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the
+severest trials of his courage as a man. These
+trials transformed him into a hero, and were
+the incentives to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.
+To this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt
+Will,” which discloses to us the inmost
+depths of Beethoven’s soul.</p>
+
+<p>His physician had ordered him in October,
+1802, to the village of Heiligenstadt, near
+Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
+Beethoven thought that death was not
+far off, and, anxious to justify himself before
+posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you
+men, who think or say that I am malignant,
+obstinate or misanthropic, what an injustice
+you do me! You know not the secret cause of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>
+what you think you see. From childhood up,
+my heart and mind have been bent upon the
+accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever
+moved thereto by the feeling of benevolence.
+To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed.
+But consider that for six—yes, six
+whole years, I have been in a most unfortunate
+condition—a condition which has been made
+worse by the stupidity of my physicians; that
+my hopes, from year to year, of being cured
+have been disappointed, and that at last there
+lies before me the prospect of permanent ill.
+Born with an active and even fiery temperament,
+a lover of the distractions of society, I
+had to live in a state of isolation from all men.
+How humbled I felt when a person standing
+near me could hear a flute that was playing in
+the distance, while I could hear nothing!
+Experiences like this brought me to the very
+verge of despair, and I came very near ending
+my own life. Art alone held me back. It
+seemed to me impossible that I should leave
+the world until I had accomplished all for
+which I felt myself so well fitted. O God,
+thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
+beneficence and love for human kind. O<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>
+you men, when you read this, remember that
+you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate
+rejoice to find one of their number who, spite
+of the obstacles put in his way by nature, did
+all in his power to be admitted into the ranks
+of artists and men worthy of the name.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, too, we find in his music the
+first traces of such appeals to the Godhead. The
+text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
+appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature.
+But, in the domain of religion, our artist had
+not yet risen to his full height. He is still preponderantly
+the musician of life, force and of
+the brilliant play of the intellect; and his compositions
+are still pre-eminently works of art
+and of the fancy. The <i>Eroica</i> (op. 55), which
+was finished in 1803, possessed these characteristics
+in the highest sense of the word. And now
+we may understand what he felt himself, as he
+said in his “Will,” fitted to accomplish, as
+well as the mysterious conversation he had in
+1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which
+he speaks of this period of his life, and of
+Giulietta, who had now long been the Countess
+Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before,
+returned from Naples, where her husband had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>
+acted as director of the theater for years.
+The conversation in question begins thus: It
+was held in the French language—</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven—“She was mine before she was
+her husband’s or Italy’s, and she paid me a
+visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”</p>
+
+<p>Schindler—“By Hercules!”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven—“If I had parted in that way
+with my strength, as well as my life, what
+would have remained to me for nobler and better
+things?”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven had said of himself that he
+had something to do in the world besides marrying.
+His ideal was not to live in such
+cramped circumstances. He knew of “nobler
+and better things.” Yet it seems that he offered
+his hand to the “lovely, charming girl”
+in this year 1803, when he began to have a
+prospect of permanently bettering his condition,
+and that Giulietta was not disinclined to
+marry him. But family considerations prevented
+the decisive step; and she was married
+in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg.
+“Despising” her—whether rightly or
+wrongly we have no means of determining,
+but we do know that she was not happy—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span>
+turned to the performance of the
+great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.</p>
+
+<p>Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand
+others, thus proves the truth of the old saying:
+the course of true love never did run smooth.
+In his earlier biographies this episode has been
+treated as a great and even tragic event, because
+that remarkable letter to his “immortal
+love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to
+speak, was erroneously supposed to be addressed
+to Countess Guicciardi and to refer to
+this circumstance in his life. But although
+no more than an episode, Beethoven could
+here have mastered his feelings only by the
+full consciousness he now possessed of the duty
+he owed to his genius. As Liszt says, <i>le genie
+oblige</i>, and Beethoven felt that it was a duty
+genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition
+and even the heartfelt happiness that is
+born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
+wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter:
+“You paint, and I shall compose music. In
+this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps
+live forever.” And that our artist had some
+right to lay claim to such immortality is
+proved not only by his sonatas, which are little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>
+poems in themselves, by his songs and quartets,
+but by mighty and memorable works which
+reflect the world-soul. He was working on
+that grand creation, the <i>Eroica</i>. This sacrifice
+of his feelings may have been, and most
+likely was, forced upon him by the accident
+of the uncertainty of his position in life, but
+that it was not made without a struggle is
+manifest from his expression of contempt for
+Giulietta—<i>mais je la méprisais</i> but still more
+from the ideal of the value of faithful love
+which now became rooted in his soul, and
+which we see reflected in the <i>Fidelio</i>, that
+immediately followed the <i>Eroica</i>, and which
+presents us with the most beautiful of all
+female characters. In its composition, we find
+united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
+in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and
+which he so beautifully embodied in his art.
+On the golden background of his enthusiasm
+for “nobler and better things,” the sweet face
+of Leonore stands out in bold relief as the
+perfect type of human beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven borrowed the tones of the <i>Eroica</i>
+from the elevating nature of humanitarian
+ideas transferred to the region of public life.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>
+The hero enters, touching with giant hands
+the foundations of human existence, which he
+wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And,
+indeed, the First Consul of the French Republic
+might very well suggest to him, at the beginning
+of this century, how heroes act, the
+jubilation with which nations greet them,
+how great existing institutions oppose their
+progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their
+might. The first movement of the <i>Eroica</i> describes
+the most varied events in the life of
+such a hero with a fullness of episode almost
+destructive of its form. In its climax, the real
+work of the hero is seen; the old order of
+things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces
+in its powerful and terrific syncopations and
+dissonant chords, to make place for a new existence,
+one more worthy of human beings.
+But, at the close of the movement, the victorious
+hero exultingly yokes the new order of
+things to his chariot. This is history, the
+world’s history in tones; and, for its sake, we
+may for the moment shroud the dearest longings
+of the heart in the dark robes of resignation.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>
+the genius of liberty, at this time
+newly born into the world, and a new factor
+in the history of mankind. He understood,
+too, the tragic fate of all heroes—that they are
+destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
+though God-commissioned, to die, that their
+works may live and prosper. Bonaparte’s
+history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime
+and solemn step of the funeral march;
+for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
+no man had stepped as did he through the
+spaces of the existing order of things. But
+Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far
+beyond the reality that surrounded him. As
+early as 1802, he wrote to the music dealers in
+Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers
+of the <i>Edition Peters</i>: “Away with you all,
+gentlemen! To propose to me to write such a
+sonata! That might have done in the time
+when the Revolution was at fever heat, but now
+that everything has returned to the old beaten
+path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat
+with the Pope, to write such a sonata—away
+with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore, who
+is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom
+mankind weeps in the tones of this funeral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>
+march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
+hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that
+is solemnly borne to the grave to the rhythm of
+this wonderful march—a march which has in
+it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare
+or an Æschylus. Beethoven in this
+march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
+music, and gave evidence of that quality
+of soul which made him indifferent to “the
+slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”</p>
+
+<p>The two last movements of the work do not
+convey so powerful an idea of heroic action.
+Was it that his powers of imagination flagged,
+or that the change in Napoleon’s career made
+him disgusted with the hero? We know that
+when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the
+symphony was finished—the title, proudly
+and characteristically enough bearing only
+two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and
+“Luigi van Beethoven” at the bottom—and
+Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he
+said: “Can it be that he is no more than an
+ordinary man? Now he, like others, will
+trample all human rights under foot, serve
+only his ambition and become a tyrant.” He
+tore the title page in two, threw the work on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>
+the floor and did not again look at it for a long
+time. When it appeared in 1806, it was under
+the name of the <i>Sinfonia Eroica</i>, “composed
+to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
+It was dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who
+purchased it and caused it to be performed before
+Prince Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of
+1804. The Prince was so delighted with it
+that he had it played three times the same
+evening in immediate succession, which was a
+very great satisfaction to Beethoven.</p>
+
+<p>There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental
+fresco painting of a hero who strives
+and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
+to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the
+<i>Fidelio</i>, which made the latter the natural
+successor of the <i>Eroica</i>. Florestan dared
+“boldly to tell the truth,” and this, his entering
+the lists for right and freedom, incites his
+faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
+Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison,
+and, just in the nick of time, casts herself between
+her beloved husband and his murderer.
+Her cry—which has in it much of the heroism
+of death—“kill first his wife,” is a bit of
+history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>
+great, as it is also the most intense dramatic
+representation, in tones, of the full energy of a
+woman’s love.</p>
+
+<p>In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote:
+“I have composed music of every description,
+except operas and church music.” But even,
+a short time before this, he had something to
+do with the theater. He had written the ballet
+<i>Prometheus</i>, which represents in a sense, the
+history of the creation of man in choreographic
+pictures. The success of this work
+determined Schikaneder, well known to the
+readers of the life of Mozart, and who, at this
+time, had the direction of the newly-built
+theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a
+large annual stipend. When this man, Schikaneder,
+in the same spring of 1803, saw that
+the oratorio <i>Christus am Oelberge</i> (Christ on
+the Mount of Olives) met with good success,
+although more theatrical than spiritual in its
+character, he commissioned him to write an
+opera also. The subject was, probably, <i>Alexander</i>—a
+very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
+own heroic style, and his feeling at
+the time. But nothing came of it. There
+can be no doubt, however, that a piece which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>
+he had sketched and intended to make a part
+of it, the duet, <i>O Namenlose Freude</i> (O
+Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the
+<i>Fidelio</i>. Beethoven had received a commission
+to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who
+had taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in
+the year 1804.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and
+Cherubini were writing for the Viennese. The
+compositions of the latter met with great success,
+and made a powerful impression on Beethoven.
+In these men he met with foes worthy
+of his steel, and inducements great enough to
+lead him to do his very best. His severe heart
+trials and consequent disappointment had
+taught him how lonely he was in the world.
+Breuning wrote of him in 1804: “You have
+no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable,
+and, I might say, horrible an impression his
+partial loss of hearing has made on him....
+What must be the feelings of one with such a
+violent temper, to meet with such a misfortune!
+And then his reserve, and his distrust frequently
+of his best friend!” A subject like
+that of the <i>Fidelio</i> must, of itself, have taken
+strong hold of a man like Beethoven, because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>
+of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds
+her mortal enemy, Pizarro, spell-bound, with
+the pistol in her hand. What must have most
+affected him here, however, was the ideal background
+of suffering for truth and freedom—for
+Pizarro was a tyrant—and the fact that a
+woman had the power that comes of genuine
+fidelity to avert every danger from her beloved
+husband, even at the risk of her own life.
+And Beethoven endowed the work with his
+exalted and almost transfigured background
+of feeling, by means of his music, which here
+depicts the constitution of his own nature, and
+his whole intellectual build. He accurately
+hits the decisive climax of the conflict, and
+gives to the principal actors so much of real
+personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
+them, and to understand their action
+from their inner feelings. This, in connection
+with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
+of the dramatic characteristics which
+we greet in the <i>Fidelio</i>. The development of
+the operatic form as such is not further carried
+on in this work. In his pure instrumental
+music, even more than in the <i>Fidelio</i>, Beethoven
+has given form to the language of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>
+soul and to the great hidden springs of action
+of the world and human nature.</p>
+
+<p>A period may come when stricter demands
+may be made on dramatic art, and when, as a
+consequence, this work may not have as much
+charm as it has for us, because of its fragmentary
+character. But be this as it may, in some
+of its details it will always appeal irresistibly
+to the finest feeling. We find in it passages
+like those in Beethoven’s improvisation which
+never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
+real happiness. The greater part of this language
+was, like Mozart’s Cantilene, rich in
+soul. Yet melodies like <i>Komm, Hoffnung, lass
+den letzten Stern</i>, <i>In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen</i>
+and <i>O namen, namenlose Freude</i>, are of
+such a character that “humanity will never
+forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish
+food and light at the same time, and, like
+certain forces, produce a greater yield in proportion
+as greater demands are made upon
+them. We frequently find in it expressions
+that are simply inimitable, and when this
+work is contemplated we see that it bears evidence
+of a profundity of soul and of a development
+of mind which separate—<i>toto coelo</i>—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>
+from his predecessors, Mozart not
+excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of the
+deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of
+the web and woof of the human soul itself.
+Such, for instance, are <i>Wir muessen gleich zu
+Werke schreiten</i>, the chorus of prisoners, the
+picture of Florestan’s dungeon, the digging
+of the grave, and above all the thrilling
+<i>Toet’ erst sein Weib!</i> (kill first his wife). But
+the center of all is, as may be seen from the
+innumerable and most refined traits of the
+music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity.
+Her character stirred Beethoven to the very
+depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
+her devotion to freedom were his own. The
+work itself was to be called <i>Leonore</i>, as, indeed,
+the first piano-score was called in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>This work has a meaning in the life of our
+artist himself, greater, almost, than its importance
+as a work of art.</p>
+
+<p>The work required, for its completion, only
+the spring and summer of the year 1805. The
+sketches of it show how carefully the file was
+used on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic
+devotion was able to smelt the ore
+of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>
+which make up the matter of the whole; but
+this it could not do here fully enough to produce
+that natural flow which dramatic taste
+even now demanded. Moreover, the storm of
+war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
+hearers of even the calm of devotion.
+The result was that only the prima donna
+Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the
+character of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as
+a composer of purely instrumental music, had
+not paid sufficient attention to the demands of
+the human voice. On the 13th of October,
+1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after the
+20th the <i>Fidelio</i> was repeated three times;
+not, however, before the art lovers of Vienna,
+but before an audience composed of French
+officers. It was received with little applause,
+and after the first performance the house
+remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the
+work. But even the critics missed in it at this
+time “that certain splendor of originality
+characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our
+artist’s friends now gathered about him to
+induce him to make some abbreviations in the
+opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky.
+Beethoven was never before seen so much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>
+excited, and were it not for the prayers and
+entreaties of the gentle and tender Princess
+Christiane, he would certainly have agreed to
+nothing. He consented at last to drop a few
+numbers, but it took six full hours to induce
+him to do even this. It is easy to explain this
+fact: the work was the pet child of his brain.
+Breuning now re-arranged the libretto. He
+made the acting more vivacious and Beethoven
+shortened the several pieces still more. The
+work proved more acceptable to the public,
+but Beethoven thought himself surrounded
+by a network of intrigue, and, as he had
+agreed only for a share in the profits, he once
+more withdrew the work. We hear no more
+of it until 1814. We shall see what effect its
+production had when we reach that date in
+Beethoven’s life.</p>
+
+<p>But this re-arrangement led to a new overture
+and to a new poetical expression of the
+subject, to the great <i>Leonoren-Overture</i>, known
+as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven,
+in this overture, lets us hear, as if in
+the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
+Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that
+flashes across his mind when he thinks of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>
+Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
+in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of
+her own life for her beloved husband, and in
+the signal of trumpets, the coming of her rescuer;
+the calm joy of the unutterably happy
+husband, as well as the boisterous, stormy joy
+of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
+with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest
+song of praise of freedom and happiness.
+The symphonic poem, <i>Leonore</i>, as a whole, far
+surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together
+with the <i>Eroica</i>, it is the second monumental
+work of Beethoven’s genius in this early
+period of his musical creations, and proves him
+a matured master in his art.</p>
+
+<p>The proud path thus entered on, he never
+left.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the works already mentioned, we
+may, for the sake of completeness, mention the
+following likewise: The <i>Opferlied</i> (1st arrangement),
+<i>Seufzer eines Ungeliebten</i>, variations
+<i>quant’è più bello</i>, about 1795; variations to <i>Nel
+cor più</i> and minuet <i>a la Vigano</i> which appeared
+in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
+for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and
+variations to a Russian dance, in 1797; variations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>
+to a Swiss song and <i>Mich brennt</i>, 1798;
+<i>Gretels Warnung</i>, <i>La partenza</i>, composed in
+1798; variations to the <i>La stessa</i>, <i>Kind, willst
+du</i> and <i>Taendeln und Scherzen</i>, which
+appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed
+in 1799; variations in G major, composed in
+1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
+<i>Bei Maennern</i> which appeared in 1802;
+terzetto op. 116, sonatas for violin, op. 30,
+variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802;
+<i>Glueck der Freundschaft</i>, op. 88 and <i>Zaertliche
+Liebe</i> which appeared in 1803; trio variations
+op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed
+in 1803; three marches op. 45, variations
+to “Rule Brittannia,” and the <i>Wachtelschlag</i>,
+1804; sonata op. 53, together with the
+<i>andante</i> in F major, originally belonging to it,
+the <i>triple concerto</i> op. 56, and the sonata op.
+57, begun in 1804, <i>An die Hoffnung</i>, op. 32 and
+trio op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth
+concerto op. 58, composed in 1805; trio op. 36,
+sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; <i>Empfindungen
+bei Lydiens Untreue</i> belonging
+probably to 1806.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1806-1812.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR—THE PASTORALE AND
+THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>The Pastorale—Its Composition—Meaning of the Apassionata—Its
+History—Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved
+One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—New Acquaintances—Thinks
+of Writing Operas—Court-theater
+Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The Mass in C., op.
+86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio in Prague—Music
+for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Power
+Expressed in Beethoven’s Music—Character of His Works
+about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The
+Cello Sonata, op. 69—Other Compositions and their Meaning—Improvement
+in His Pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph
+Bonaparte—Vienna Fears to Lose Him—Contemplated
+Journey to England—The Seventh Symphony—Wagner
+on the Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His
+Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Beethoven’s</span> Heiligenstadt Will, written
+in the year 1802, closed with this painful appeal:
+“O thou, Providence, let one day more
+of joy dawn on me. How long have I been a
+stranger to the heartfelt echo of true happiness!
+When, when, O God, can I feel it once
+more in the temple of nature and of man.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>
+Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our
+artist’s thoughts were thus directed into channels
+which carried him far from the scenes
+immediately surrounding him into regions of
+a higher existence—of an existence which he
+soon described so exquisitely in the language
+of music. The <i>Pastorale</i> which celebrates this
+“Temple of nature” was originally designated
+as No. 5, and was, therefore, intended to be
+completed before the symphony in C minor.
+But it would seem that Beethoven had to go
+through many an internal conflict, the result
+of his great depression of spirits, before he
+could acquire the calmness of mind necessary
+to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
+God in Nature,” and to give it proper form
+and expression in art.</p>
+
+<p>Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806,
+that the intrigues about the <i>Fidelio</i> were all
+the more disagreeable to Beethoven because
+the fact that it had not been performed reduced
+him to some pecuniary straits, and that it
+would take all the longer time for him to recover,
+as the treatment he had received deprived
+him of a great deal of his love for his
+work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>
+bears the memorandum: “Begun on the 26th
+of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony
+(op. 60), as well as the violin concerto (op.
+61), also belong to this year. In the meantime
+op. 56, which had been begun some time
+previous, the triple concerto, op. 57, called the
+<i>Apassionata</i>, and op. 58, the fourth concerto,
+were all either continued or finished. What
+wealth there is here—in the number of compositions,
+in their magnitude and in their contents!
+The three quartets are dedicated to
+Count Rasumowsky, who had given Beethoven
+the commission to write them, and who had
+furnished the Russian melodies on which they
+are based. How well the <i>adagio</i> of the second
+of them points us to that higher region in
+which Beethoven now felt himself more and
+more at home. He himself told Czerny that
+that <i>adagio</i> suggested itself to him one night,
+when he was contemplating the starry heavens,
+and thinking of the harmony of the spheres.
+In the serene calmness of these vanishing
+tones, we see the revolution of the stars
+mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all
+pain seems lightened, all passion stilled.
+Yet how both had raged even in the <i>Apassionata</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>
+the draft of which is to be found
+immediately following that of the <i>Fidelio</i>.
+The <i>Apassionata</i> is written in his heart-blood.
+Its tones are cries of excitement the
+most painful. It was finished in the summer,
+and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick.
+An oil painting of the count’s sister, Countess
+Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
+after his death. It bore the superscription:
+“To the rare genius, the great artist, the good
+man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
+letter to his “immortal love,” already referred
+to, was addressed to her—and it is truly a
+letter which gives us a pen-picture of Beethoven’s
+condition of mind at that time, and
+which affords an idea of the “gigantic sweep
+of his ideas.” It was found after his death, together
+with other important papers, in an old
+chest, and is dated on July 6, from a watering
+place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
+have been written in the year 1806, in which
+Beethoven paid a visit to the Brunswicks. But,
+be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
+feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt
+on that sublime height on which all earthly
+desires are silent. It seems also to lead us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>
+over to the understanding and appreciation of
+Beethoven’s subsequent creations, which henceforth
+gain an ideal character not of this earth.
+We can here touch only on the principal points
+in these letters.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he
+begin it on the 6th of July, in the morning. He proceeds:
+“Only a few words to-day, and those in lead-pencil,
+and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
+be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What
+a wretched loss of time for such trifles! Why
+this deep affliction where necessity speaks? How
+can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
+except by limitation of our desires? Can you change
+the fact that you are not entirely mine nor I entirely
+yours? Look out on the beauties of nature, and resign
+yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
+and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your
+case. But you forget too easily that I have to live for
+you as well as for myself. Were we entirely one, you
+would feel the pain there is in this as little as I....
+We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
+to-day what reflections I have made upon my life,
+during the past forty-eight hours. Were our hearts
+always close to one another, I am sure I should make
+no such reflections. My heart is too full to tell you
+much. There are moments when I find that language
+is nothing at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only
+pet, my all, as I am all yours. The gods must direct
+the rest in our lives. Thy faithful</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ludwig</span>.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>But, on the same dainty little piece of note
+paper, he continues, for the mail had already
+left:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am,
+you are with me. I must try to so arrange it that our
+life may be one. But what, what a life to be thus
+without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men
+which I do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really
+do earn. That a man should humble himself before
+his fellow man, pains me; and when I consider myself
+as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
+they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we
+find the divine in that which is human.... No
+matter how great your love for me, my love for you is
+greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good
+night! Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas,
+that I should be so near and yet so far from you. Is
+not our love a real firmament of heaven? And is it
+not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>He takes up the same piece of paper once
+more:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise
+my thoughts fly to you, dear—to you, immortal love, now
+joyfully, now sadly, waiting to see whether the fates will
+hear our prayer. If I shall live at all, it must be with
+you. I am resolved to wander about far away from
+you, until the time comes when I may fly into your
+arms, and say that I belong to you; until I may send
+my soul absolved by you, dear, into the land of spirits.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>
+Yes, unfortunately it must be so. You will be all the
+more composed, since you know how faithful I am to
+you. Another can never possess my heart—never!
+Why, O God, must a man be so widely separated from
+the object of his love? And yet the life I now live in
+Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
+once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men.
+At my present age, there should be some uniformity
+in my life; but is such a thing possible in my present
+circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
+contemplation of our existence can we gain our object
+and live united. Be patient! love me! How I longed
+and wept for you to-day and yesterday; you, my life,
+my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget the most
+faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine
+and thou forever mine.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>How completely like Beethoven! It was
+during this very summer that he completed
+the <i>Apassionata</i>, which he always considered
+the greatest of his sonatas, at the home of the
+Brunswicks. Can it be said that its language
+is in anything greater than the language of
+this letter? He seems at this time to be nearly
+always possessed by a feeling of melancholy.
+But for this very reason he took refuge more
+than ever in music. It was, indeed, a real
+sanctuary to him, and he refused to open that
+sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of
+all, to the eyes of enemies. This he very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>
+plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
+the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and
+was spending some time in Silesia with the
+prince. The latter desired him to play for
+some French officers who were quartered in his
+castle. A violent scene immediately ensued.
+After it was over, Beethoven left the castle.
+He refused to go back with the prince who had
+followed him, but repaired, post haste, back to
+Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was
+broken to pieces as an expiatory sacrifice. It
+was not long, however, before the old friendship
+of the two was re-established.</p>
+
+<p>In the quartet sketches of this year, we find
+the words: “Just as you can cast yourself here
+into the whirl of society, it is possible to write
+operas spite of all social impediments. Let
+the fact that you do not hear be a mystery no
+longer, even in your music.” This “whirl of
+society” introduces us to some new acquaintances.
+Count Rasumowsky held very brilliant
+soirées, at which the amiable and charming
+wife of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed
+some of Beethoven’s works in an exquisite
+manner. The playing of the elegant
+and handsome Countess Marie Erdoedy, whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>
+Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
+was not inferior to that of Madame
+Bigot. Other patrons of the musical art were
+Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming
+Frankfort lady, and the Malfattis, one of whom
+was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
+Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein,
+daughter of the Augsburg piano-maker, described
+in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll
+a manner, was the rendezvous of lovers of
+music. Nor must we forget to mention Prince
+Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother,
+the Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished
+pupil, who, as our artist himself admitted,
+understood music thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p>The chief value, however, of the works
+quoted above, is that they inform us how
+Beethoven, spite of his experience with the
+<i>Fidelio</i>, was thinking very seriously of the
+writing of “operas.” If successful here, his
+fortune was made, and there was nothing then
+to hinder the crowning of his love by marriage.
+There now seemed to be a very good
+prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807,
+the two court-theaters passed into the hands
+of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>
+their head. Lobkowitz immediately called
+upon Beethoven to act as composer for the
+Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position,
+and bound himself to write at least one
+great opera and operetta each year, and to supply
+whatever other music might be needed. A
+feeling of inexhaustible power must have inspired
+him at this time, when he was actuated
+by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence
+in self. A forcible proof of this is the
+overture which he then wrote to Collins’s <i>Coriolanus</i>.
+But the gentlemen did not accede to
+his wishes; they did not want to trust him as
+composer of instrumental music in this point;
+and thus Beethoven, although not particularly
+pleased by the action of his princely friends,
+was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
+in the field of labor most in harmony
+with his disposition.</p>
+
+<p>“If it be true that genuine strength and a
+fullness of deep feeling characterize the Germans,
+we must say that Beethoven was, above
+all, a German artist. In this, his most recent
+work, we cannot but admire the expressiveness
+and depth of his music, which so grandly
+painted the wild, perturbed mind of <i>Coriolanus</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>
+and the sudden and terrible change in his
+fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.”
+These lines are from an account of a concert
+given in the <i>Augarten</i> by Lichnowsky in the
+spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
+that Beethoven was now engaged on
+the symphony in C minor and on the <i>Pastorale</i>.
+Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a
+large and thriving music business in London,
+and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
+was French at the time, he felt at his ease so
+far as money matters were concerned. He
+writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807:
+“I can now hope to be able, in a few years, to
+maintain the dignity of a real artist.” And
+when, in the same letter, we read the farther
+passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell
+her that I fear that I shall become great
+without a monument, to which she has contributed,”
+we can understand how love, fame
+and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for new
+and mighty exploits in art.</p>
+
+<p>The next work published by Beethoven was
+the Mass in C, op. 86, which Esterhazy gave
+him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
+even more than in opera, missed the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>
+spirit of his subject. The Mass bears witness
+to his intellect, and has all the charms of
+sound; but it is not a religious composition.
+When Beethoven himself wrote to Esterhazy,
+as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that
+it is not without many misgivings that I shall
+send you the Mass, for I know you are accustomed
+to have the inimitable works of the
+great Haydn performed for you,” he proves
+that he did not understand the real spirit of
+church music; for Haydn had, just as little as
+Beethoven, a true conception of what church
+music is. Haydn was now seventy-six years
+old, and Beethoven attended a performance of
+his <i>Creation</i> the following year, and, with a
+number of the distinguished nobility, received
+the celebrated guest at the door. The fame
+of the man whom he was thus called upon to
+honor, was a type of what his own was destined
+one day to be. And what his own fame
+would be, the production of the great works
+he had recently finished, must have enabled
+him to foresee. When the Mass was performed,
+in September, 1807, in Eisenstadt, our
+composer had a personal falling out—the result
+of a misunderstanding—with Mozart’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>
+pupil, Hummel; and one which was not made
+up for for some years. The prince had criticised
+Beethoven’s Mass by asking the strange question:
+“But, my dear Beethoven, what have
+you been doing now?” Hummel could not
+help laughing at this strange mode of criticism.
+Beethoven supposed he was laughing
+at his work; and after this would have nothing
+more to do with the prince.</p>
+
+<p>It was otherwise with the magnanimous,
+noble lover of art, Prince Lobkowitz, one of the
+principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
+principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven
+was indebted for the suggestion that the
+<i>Fidelio</i> should be performed in Prague. For
+the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year,
+1807, the overture, op. 138, which is, therefore,
+to be accounted not the second, but the
+third <i>Leonore</i> overture. The performance of
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, however, did not take place until
+1814, the same year in which it was performed
+in Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it
+was publicly announced that “the gifted Beethoven
+had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s
+Faust to music, as soon as he could find any
+one to prepare it for the stage.” The first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>
+part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a
+“tragedy;” and, as we shall see, the poem
+made a deep impression on our artist. Long
+after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied
+his thoughts. But he had, even now, written
+some Faust music—the symphony in C minor.
+To it we now turn, for it is one of the greatest
+of Beethoven’s creations.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen how Beethoven himself once
+said: “Power is the moral code of men who
+distinguish themselves above others.” And
+so we hear how one person described him as
+“power personified;” how another said of him
+that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through
+his eyes:” and a third, that “his magnificent
+forehead was the seat of majestic, creative
+power.” Spurred on by the opposition of
+“fate,” that is, by what nature had denied him,
+we see this power appear in all its concentration
+and sublimity. The power which has
+created, and which preserves all things, has
+been called “will,” and music, one of its immediate
+phenomena, while the other arts are
+only reflections of that will, and reflect only
+the things of the world. In the first movement
+of the symphony in C minor, we feel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>
+the presence of this power or personal will, to
+an extent greater than in any other work of
+art. It there appears in fullest action, in all
+its nobility. The symphony might not inappropriately
+have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
+for it is a veritable head of Jove, such
+as only a Phidias could have imagined. Melody
+has been described as the history of the
+will illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form
+of the symphony is just such kind of
+melody. And it is this fifth symphony of
+Beethoven’s, which, more than any other, tells
+us the most secret history of that personal
+will, of all its strivings and motions. No
+type in any art, could have suggested a Siegfried
+to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius
+acts as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence
+of the prototype of the Great Spirit.
+Yet when the work was performed in Paris,
+Hector Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say
+of it—and this, although he was deeply moved
+by it—“but such music should not be heard.”
+“Don’t be afraid,” was the reply, “there will
+be little of that kind of music written.” How
+correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
+Siegfried’s <i>Rheinfahrt</i>, in the <i>Goetterdaemmerung</i>,
+is music of “that kind.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>But it is only the night of sorrow that gives
+birth to the concentration of power. It is only
+by great effort that this energy can be maintained.
+And as Coriolanus finely presses all the
+darts aimed at him by his mother into her
+own heart, in defying sacrifice, so we find, in
+the background of this holiest and most manly
+will, the consciousness of the variety and
+transitory character of all things. In his
+heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has
+knocked at his door, only because in his following
+the dictates of force and action, he has
+sinned against nature, and that all will is only
+transitoriness and self-deception. The <i>adagio</i>
+expresses subjection to a higher will. The
+consciousness of this highest act of the will,
+to sacrifice one’s self and yet to preserve one’s
+freedom, gave birth to the song of jubilation
+in the <i>finale</i> which tells not of the joy and
+sorrow of one heart only; it lifts the freedom
+which has been praised and sought for into the
+higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony
+in C minor has a significance greater than
+any mere “work of art.” Like the production
+of religious art, it is a representation of those
+secret forces which hold the world together.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>The consciousness of this deeper, intimate
+dependence of all things on one another, is
+henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the
+darkness which gathered around him, and it
+continues to beautify and transfigure his creations.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Pastorale</i> immediately followed the
+symphony in C minor. It gives expression
+to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
+the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature
+and calm your soul by the contemplation
+of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
+compared with the fifth, is a symphony
+and nothing more—even if it be Beethoven’s—we
+plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
+spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and
+character it illustrates constitutes in Beethoven’s
+life the transition from the external beauty
+of nature to the comprehension of the eternal.
+Over it is written: “Recollections of country
+life,” but also, “More an expression of feeling
+than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved
+the Rhine,” the young playmates of the boy
+Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself
+to Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful
+region in which I first saw the light as plainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>
+and as beautiful as the moment I left you.”
+On a leaf, written in his own hand, we find
+the words: “O the charm of the woods—who
+can express it?” But now that he was compelled
+to live a solitary life, nature became to
+him a mother, sister and sweetheart. He
+looked upon the wonders of nature as into
+living eyes; she calmed him who was naturally
+of such a stormy temperament, and to whom
+life had been unkind in so many ways. In
+the <i>Scene am Bach</i> (Scene by the Brook), the
+waters murmur peace to his soul; and the
+birds by the brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where
+these two symphonies were finished, whisper
+joy. His <i>Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute</i>,
+infuses new courage into the heart, and
+when his <i>Gewitter und Sturm</i>, tells of the
+might of the Eternal, the shepherds express
+their joyful and grateful feelings in the words:
+<i>Herr wir danken dir</i>. The <i>finale</i>, like the
+<i>Chorphantasie</i> (op. 80), planned in 1800 but
+not finished until 1808, was intended to contain
+a chorus expressing in words the joyful
+and thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s
+own personal experience is always expressed
+in his music. A more intimate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>
+acquaintance with nature gave it to him to
+find yet deeper expression for the feelings
+which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting
+change enabled him to conceive the eternal
+and imperishable.</p>
+
+<p>We now turn to a whole series of new and
+brilliant creations of our hero. It would seem
+as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
+had given him new life.</p>
+
+<p>During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy
+with the Malfattis and their two charming
+daughters, was a great source of pleasure to
+him. His feelings towards them may be inferred
+from the following passages in his notes
+to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I
+feel so well when I am with them that they
+seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
+have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect
+to find there in the <i>Wilden Mann</i> in the park,
+no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And
+again: “My greetings, to all who are dear to
+you and to me. How gladly would I add—and
+to whom we are dear???? These points
+of interrogation are becoming, at least in me.”
+Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
+Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>
+Theresa, who made her debut in society
+about this time, and whom he writes of as
+“volatile, taking everything in life lightly”
+but “with so much feeling for all that is beautiful
+and good, and a great talent for music,”
+he sends a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s
+Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s translation of
+Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse
+with the family had that intellectual foundation
+which Beethoven could not dispense with,
+on anything. It would even seem as if, in his
+enthusiasm to put his strength to the test of
+new deeds, even his “eternal loved one”
+should fade from his view.</p>
+
+<p>The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his
+friend Gleichenstein immediately followed the
+<i>Pastorale</i>. The two magnificent trios dedicated
+to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he
+resided at this time, follow as op. 70. The
+first movement of the trio in D major is a
+brilliantly free play of mind and force, while
+the <i>adagio</i> suggests Faust lost in the deep
+contemplation of nature and its mysteries.
+The whole, on account of the mysterious awe
+expressed by this movement has been called by
+musicians the <i>Fledermaustrio</i>, i. e., the bat-trio.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>
+The <i>Leonore</i> is numbered op. 72. It
+was published in 1810. Op. 73, the most
+beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the
+Archduke Rudolph. We have further, op.
+74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op.
+77, to his friend Brunswick; lastly, the sonata
+in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly valued
+by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister
+Theresa. Verily “new acts” enough, and
+what glorious deeds!</p>
+
+<p>This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed
+a change for the better in Beethoven’s
+pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
+permanent salary. On the 1st of November,
+1808, he wrote to the Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,—whom
+he had visited in the fall of 1806,
+in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave
+him a commission to write a symphony, which
+the count, however, never received—as follows:
+“My circumstances are improving without the
+assistance of people who entertain their friends
+with blows. I have also been called to act as
+<i>capellmeister</i> to the King of Westphalia, and
+perhaps I may obey the call.” The following
+December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>
+programme of which embraced the two new
+symphonies, parts of his Mass, the concerto in
+G minor, and the <i>Chorphantasie</i>. He himself
+improvised at the piano. The attention
+of people far and near was called anew to this
+great and grave master in music, whom the
+sensualist Jerome Bonaparte endeavored to attract
+to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
+anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s
+friends bestirred themselves to keep
+him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to
+stay. This is very evident from the letters to
+Gleichenstein and Erdoedy. Three friends of
+his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote
+one of his greatest works, were instrumental
+in keeping him in Vienna. They were the
+Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and
+Prince Kinsky, to whose wife the six songs, op.
+75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed
+amounted to eight thousand marks. “You
+see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he writes,
+on the 18th of March, 1809, <i>a propos</i> of the
+“decree” which he had received on the 26th
+of February, from the hands of the archduke,
+and which imposed on him no duty but to
+remain in Vienna and Austria, “how honorable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>
+to me my stay here has become.” He
+could not, however, have meant seriously what
+he added immediately after: “The title of imperial
+<i>capellmeister</i> will come to me also;” for
+what use had a man like the Emperor Franz
+for such an “innovator” at his court? The
+dedications of his works mentioned above
+were simply testimonials of gratitude for the
+friendship thus shown him.</p>
+
+<p>He now planned an extensive journey,
+which was to embrace England, and even
+Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now
+you can help me get a wife. If you find a
+pretty one—one who may perhaps lend a sigh
+to my harmonies, do the courting for me.
+But she must be beautiful; I cannot love anything
+that is not beautiful; if I could I should
+fall in love with myself.” The coming war
+interrupted all his plans. But, at the same
+time, it suggested to the imagination of our
+artist, that wonderful picture of the battle of
+forces, the seventh (A major) symphony (op.
+92), which Richard Wagner has called the
+“apotheosis of the dance.” Germany now
+first saw the picture of a genuinely national
+war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>
+foe, and the whole people, from the highest
+noble to the meanest peasant rose up, as
+one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The
+march is, after all, only the dance of war, and
+Beethoven gathered into one picture of instrumentation,
+the glad tramp of warlike hosts,
+the rhythm of trampling steeds, the waving of
+standards and the sound of trumpets, with a
+luminousness such as the world had never
+witnessed before. The poet needs only see the
+eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the vapor
+and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven,
+this joy in the game of war was, as
+the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
+a stimulant to his imagination, which
+now painted a picture of the free play of force
+and of human existence from the material of
+recent historical events. And even in after
+years the timeliness of this work and the
+spirit which called it into existence were evident.
+And, as we shall soon see, it constituted
+the principal part in the musical celebration,
+when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation
+occurred and led to a most decided victory.
+Personally, Beethoven felt himself not inferior
+to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>
+like Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening
+of the national genius which overthrew Napoleon.
+To this second-sight of the prophet,
+possessed by every genuine poet—to this sure
+presentiment of ultimate triumph—our artist
+owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s
+greatest ignominy and subjection he sang of
+the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
+jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the
+Austrians again. But as Beethoven first felt
+the weight and the power of resistance of
+Germany after the battles of Aspern and Wagram,
+he now depicted (after Napoleon had
+taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and
+seemed predestined to become the despot of all
+Europe), in the <i>scherzo</i> and <i>finale</i> of the
+seventh symphony, better than ever before,
+the jubilation of the victorious nation, with all
+its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
+melancholy second part, with its monotonous
+beats on the <i>dominante</i>, we think we
+hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march.
+This exceedingly characteristic theme is found
+at the very beginning of a sketch-book of the
+year 1809.</p>
+
+<p>Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>
+in Vienna and all Austria. The burthen
+of taxation was severely felt. Everything
+was at a standstill. When his beloved pupil,
+the Archduke Rudolph retreated from Vienna
+he wrote the <i>Lebewohl</i> of the sonata op. 81<sup>a</sup>;
+but its <i>finale</i> (<i>die Ankunft</i>) was not written
+until the 30th of January, 1810. The summer
+was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there
+was no demand for the exercise of his genius.
+Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger, Fux
+and Albrechtsberger he prepared the <i>Materiellen
+zum Generalbass</i> (materials for thorough-bass)
+for his noble pupil. This work was
+subsequently but wrongly published under
+the name of <i>Beethoven’s Studien</i>. On the 8th
+of September, a charity concert was given at
+which—to the disgrace of the period, be it
+said, for Napoleon had only just left Schoenbrunn—the
+<i>Eroica</i> was performed, Beethoven
+himself holding the baton. The rest of the
+summer he hoped to spend in some quiet
+corner in the country. He sojourned sometime
+with the Brunswicks in Hungary, and
+composed those works of his genius, op. 77
+and 78. His genius, indeed, seems to have
+awakened to a new life during this fall of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>
+1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh
+symphony (op. 92) contains sketches of the
+8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated
+giving another concert at Christmas,
+at which, of course, only new works
+could be performed. These sketches are followed
+by drafts for a new concerto. On these
+drafts we find the words: <i>Polonaise fuer
+Clavier allein</i>, also <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—“finish
+the overture” and “detached
+periods like princes are beggars, not
+the whole.” He here takes up once more
+those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
+conception of their meaning. They constitute
+the intellectual germ of the <i>finale</i> of the
+ninth symphony. But the melody which he
+actually noted down was elaborated in 1814
+into the overture op. 115 (<i>Zur Namensfeier</i>).</p>
+
+<p>During this period of Germany’s national
+awakening, the theaters had again turned their
+attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of
+this was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas.
+He now desired to give <i>Tell</i> a musical
+dress. He had already received a commission
+of this kind for the <i>Egmont</i>, and, on the occasion
+of his receiving it, he gave expression<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>
+to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny:
+“Schiller’s poems are exceedingly difficult to
+set to music. The composer must be able to
+rise high above the poet. But who can rise
+higher than Schiller? Goethe is much easier.”
+And, indeed, his <i>Egmont</i> overture breathes a
+higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than
+Goethe’s beautiful tragedy. The composition
+of this music led to his more intimate acquaintance
+with the poet. To this same year,
+1810, belong the incomparable songs <i>Kennst
+du das Land</i>, and <i>Herz mein Herz</i>, in op. 75.</p>
+
+<p>This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat
+mysterious point in Beethoven’s life, to his
+<i>Heirathspartie</i> (marriage speculation).</p>
+
+<p>In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall:
+“Do you recollect the condition I am
+in—the condition of Hercules before Queen
+Omphale? Farewell, and never again speak
+of me as the great man, for I never felt either
+the weakness or the strength of human nature
+as I do now.” But writing to Wegeler on the
+second of May, he says: “For a couple of
+years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful
+life. I was carried by force into the
+world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>
+one of the very happiest of men, were it not
+that the demon has taken up his abode in my
+ears. Had I not read somewhere that man
+should not voluntarily take leave of life while
+he is still able to do one good deed, I should
+long have departed hence, and by my own
+act. Life is very beautiful, but, in my case,
+it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the
+certificate of his baptism, and this in a manner
+so urgent that it creates surprise. It was
+three months before the answer to the enigma
+was found, and Breuning wrote that he believed
+that Beethoven’s engagement was
+broken off. But it continues a mystery, even
+to this day, who his choice was. It has been
+surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
+or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing
+certain on this point. True, he had now
+acquired both fame and a position which raised
+him above all fear of want. But she was
+thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
+In addition to this, there was, on his side, a
+relationship of the nature of which we shall
+yet have something to say. Her passion, if
+such there was on her part, must have been
+prudently concealed; and it is certainly remarkable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>
+that, from this time forward, her
+name is not mentioned by Beethoven. However,
+her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
+who is still living, expressly writes: “I never
+heard of any intimate relation nor of any love
+between them, while Beethoven’s profound
+love for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi,
+was a matter of frequent mention.” But
+Giulietta had at this time long been Countess
+Gallenberg. The solution of this mystery,
+accordingly, belongs to the future.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, we have a few notes to
+Gleichenstein, who married the younger Malfatti,
+the following year. In one of them we
+read: “You live on still, calm waters—in a
+safe harbor. You do not feel or should not
+feel the distress of the friend who is caught in
+the storm. What will people think of me
+in the planet Venus Urania? How can one
+judge of me who has never seen me? My
+pride is so humbled, that even without being
+ordered to do so, I would travel thither with
+thee.” And, in the other: “The news I
+received from you cast me down again out of
+the regions of happiness. What is the use
+of saying that you would send me word when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>
+there was to be music again? Am I nothing
+more than a musician to you and to others?
+Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find
+a resting-place. Externally, to myself there
+is none. No, friendship and feelings like
+it have only pain for me. Be it so, then.
+Poor Beethoven, there is no external happiness
+for you. You must create your own
+happiness. Only in the ideal world do you
+find friends.” The sketch of that and Klaerchen’s
+song <i>Freudvoll und leidvoll</i> were
+found in the possession of Theresa Malfatti.
+When Gleichenstein was engaged, the feelings
+of the man who had been so bitterly deceived
+overflowed. But how could the young girl of
+eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
+would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died
+unmarried. Theresa Malfatti married, in 1817,
+one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
+intercourse with the family continued.</p>
+
+<p>We next hear of his acquaintance with
+Bettina Brentano which led to his meeting
+Goethe in person.</p>
+
+<p>Her brother Francis had married a Miss
+Birkenstock, of Vienna. Beethoven had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>
+long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
+family. Bettina Brentano herself was
+betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and her
+deep love of music had inspired her with a
+genuine affection for Beethoven. One beautiful
+day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
+of heart, went, in company with her married
+sister, Mrs. Savigny, to Beethoven and met
+with the very best reception. He sang for
+her <i>Kennst du das Land</i>, with a sharp
+and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
+“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are
+touched by something good. But such men
+have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery
+and do not weep.” He escorted her home to
+Brentano’s, and after this they met every day.</p>
+
+<p>Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account
+of the impression made on her by Beethoven’s
+appearance and conversation. Her
+charming letters are to be found in the Cotta
+<i>Beethovenbuch</i>. They show how exalted an
+idea Beethoven had of his own high calling.
+She writes: “He feels himself to be the
+founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
+life of man. He begets the undreamt-of
+and the uncreated. What can such a man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>
+have to do with the world? Sunrise finds
+him at his blessed day’s work, and at sunset he
+is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
+even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor
+or King is as conscious of his power and of
+the fact that all power proceeds from him, as
+is this man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who
+“loved to contemplate and fix in memory
+the picture of real genius,” who well knew
+“that his intellect was even greater than his
+genius, and who frequently throws from himself
+a luminousness like that of lightning, so
+that we can scarcely tell, as we sit in the
+darkness, from what side the day may break,”
+invited him to Carlsbad, whither he was wont
+to go every year.</p>
+
+<p>The two remarkable letters to Bettina of
+the 11th of August, 1810, and the 10th of
+February, 1811, the autographs of which
+have since been found, show us how deeply
+the heart of our artist was stirred by love
+at this time. They are to be found in
+“Beethoven Letters.” A work of his composed
+about this time, the <i>Quartetto serioso</i>, op.
+95, of October, 1810, throws some light on
+this love, and yet it rises far above the pain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>
+and the sorrow of the situation in which he
+found himself. Heavy thunders announce
+Vulcan at work; but in the <i>finale</i>, how Beethoven’s
+giant mind frees itself from itself!
+The noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates
+from the spring of 1811, and, especially in the
+<i>adagio</i>, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
+bliss. But the fact that in this period no other
+compositions were written would go to show the
+influence of bitter experience. It may be,
+however, that the commission he received for
+the plays “The Ruins of Athens” and “King
+Stephen,” took up the best portion of his
+time; and, besides, the two symphonies had to
+be finished. The song <i>An die Geliebte</i> also
+belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
+draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish
+sonata for the violin which was finished in
+1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
+celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up
+the summer of 1811, but they were not put
+upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At
+the same time, an opera was wanted for Vienna.
+It was the “Ruins of Babylon.” He also
+received an invitation to Naples, where Count<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>
+Gallenberg was director of the theater. We
+next find him traveling to Teplitz, a bathing
+place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance
+with Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise
+von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
+maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was
+stopping with Elise. Amalie had a charming
+voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
+endowments as for her beauty of physique.
+Beethoven, spite of his many disappointments,
+was greatly taken with her. Her picture is
+before us. Her eye betokens intellect and
+nobility of soul, and her mouth extreme
+loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to
+Tiedge: “Press the Countess’s hand for me
+very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
+Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is
+looking.” He did not see Goethe on this
+occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following
+year, when his meeting—of which so
+much has been said and written—“with the
+most precious jewel of the German nation,”
+as he called Goethe, when writing to Bettina,
+occurred. We can here give only the principal
+incidents of that event.</p>
+
+<p>The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>
+the Empress of France, the King of Saxony,
+the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great
+many Princes were there. The company already
+in the place was joined by Goethe, the
+jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von
+Arnim, together with his charming wife, Bettina.
+Beethoven himself writes on the 12th
+of August, 1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And
+the poet, writing to Zelter, passes the following judgment
+on Beethoven: “I became acquainted with Beethoven
+in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
+me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed
+character. He is not, indeed, wrong in finding the
+world detestable. Still, his finding it detestable does
+not make it any more enjoyable either to himself or to
+others. But he is very excusable and much to be
+pitied. His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature
+laconic, and this defect is making him doubly so.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The remarkable incident related in the
+third letter to Bettina, a letter which has been
+widely read and the authenticity of which has
+been much contested—for the original does
+not seem to be extant—Bettina herself describes
+in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau. Goethe,
+she says, who had received many marks
+of attention from the Princes present, was desirous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>
+of testifying his special devotion to the
+Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions”
+signified to Beethoven that he should do
+the same. But Beethoven replied: “What!
+You must not do so. You must let them
+clearly understand what they possess in you;
+for if you do not, they will never find it out.
+I have taken quite a different course.” And
+then he told how his Archduke once sent him
+word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he
+went away. Princes might indeed, he said,
+decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
+make a man a court counsellor, but they could
+never make a Goethe or a Beethoven. To
+such men they owed respect. The whole court
+now came in. Beethoven said to Goethe:
+“Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
+But Goethe left him and stood aside with
+his hat in his hand, while Beethoven, with folded
+arms, went through the midst of them
+and only touched his hat. The court party
+separated to make place for him, and they had
+all a friendly greeting for our artist. He
+stood and waited at the other end for Goethe,
+who bowed profoundly as the court party
+passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>
+waited for you, because I honor and respect
+you, as you deserve, but you have done them
+too much honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven
+ran to them, and told them all that had happened.</p>
+
+<p>That his behavior, on this occasion, was
+not by any means dictated by any over-estimation
+of himself, but by a deep human
+feeling of equality—an equality which the
+artist finds it harder than any one else to assert
+and acquire—the whole course of Beethoven’s
+life, as well as his intercourse with people at
+this bathing place at Teplitz, proves. He
+there found Miss Sebald again. A series of
+very tender notes written to her tells us of his
+heartfelt and good understanding with this
+refined and clever North German lady, who
+made greater allowances for his natural disposition
+than were wont to be made. He
+writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure,
+I shall never possess.” His admission that, for
+five years—that is from 1811,—he had known
+a lady to be united to whom he would have
+esteemed it the greatest happiness he could
+have on earth, was made in this same year.
+But, he added, that was a happiness not to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>
+thought of; union with her was an impossibility,
+a chimera! And yet he closed with
+the words: “It is still as it was the first day
+I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought of
+her from my mind.” He did not know that
+Amalie Sebald had been the wife of a councillor
+of justice named Krause. Again did he
+give vent to his feeling in the songs <i>An die
+ferne Geliebte</i>—“to the distant loved one”—which
+bear the date; “in the month of
+April, 1816.”</p>
+
+<p>This was the last time that Beethoven seriously
+concerned himself about marriage. Fate
+would indeed have it that he should soon become
+a “father,” but without a wife. Yet no
+matter what the personal wishes of our artist
+through the rest of his life may have been, or
+what the wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed
+on a lofty goal; and it was in the ideal world
+that he found his real friends. He finished
+the seventh symphony, and after it the eighth,
+in this fall of 1812. The coquettish <i>allegretto
+scherzando</i> of the latter was suggested by the
+Maelzl metronome invented a short time before,
+and the strange minuet with its proud
+step is a hit at the high court society whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>
+Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times
+of the old regime, when the principle <i>l’état
+c’est moi</i> obtained in society, were passed.
+These works are clearly expressive of the free
+and progressive spirit of a new and better age.
+It was the seventh symphony especially that,
+in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven
+himself the hearts of that age. This symphony
+helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
+by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven
+now entered a new stage of development,
+and rose to his full height as an artist
+and a man. Other works composed by Beethoven
+during this period are the following:
+82 variations (1806-7); <i>In questa tomba</i>
+(1807); <i>Sonatine</i> (op. 79); variations op. 76
+and <i>Lied aus der Ferne</i> (composed 1809);
+<i>Die laute Klage</i> (probably 1809); Sextett op.
+8<sup>b</sup>. <i>Andenken</i>, <i>Sehnsucht</i> by Goethe; <i>Der Liebende</i>,
+<i>Der Juengling in der Fremde</i> (appeared
+in 1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed
+in 1810); Scotch songs (commenced in
+1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811);
+trio in one movement and three <i>equale</i> for
+four trombones, (composed in 1812) the latter
+of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s
+burial.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1813-1823.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The
+Battle-Symphony—Its Success—Beethoven’s Own Estimate
+of It—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual
+Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The
+Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the
+Object of Universal Attention—Presents from Kings—Works
+Written in 1814 and 1815—The Liederkreis—Madame
+von Ertmann—His Nephew—Romulus and the
+Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for London—Commission
+from London—Opinion of the English
+People—His Songs—His Missa Solemnis—His Own
+Opinion of It—Its Completion—Characteristics—The
+Ninth Symphony.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Resignation</span>, the most absolute and heartfelt
+resignation to thy fate! Thou shouldst
+not live for thyself, but only for others.
+Henceforth there is no happiness for thee, but
+in thy art. O God, grant me strength to
+conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me
+to life.” With this cry of the heart, taken
+<i>verbatim</i> from his diary of 1812, Beethoven
+consecrated himself to the noble task which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>
+after this he never lost sight of—of writing
+“for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal,
+the Infinite.”</p>
+
+<p>The national bankruptcy of Austria did not
+leave Beethoven unaffected. It compelled
+him, besides, to come to the assistance of his
+sick brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore,
+that he felt called upon to undertake, in
+order to provide himself with the mere means
+of subsistence, was the public representation of
+his new compositions. It was not long before
+an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
+an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations
+to the dignity of one of the motive powers of
+the national life of the period. The star of
+Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the
+gigantic struggle begun to bring about the
+overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted
+the sympathy and active participation of our
+artist.</p>
+
+<p>“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain
+as I am! O, what a difference between
+the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
+often! O, horrible circumstances which do
+not suppress my desire to be thrifty, but which
+keep one from being so. O, God! O, God!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>
+look down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let
+this last no longer as it is.” Thus did he write
+in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher,
+interested herself in him in his pecuniary
+embarrassment, which was so great that at one
+time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots
+to leave the house in. He writes: “I do
+not deserve to be in the condition I am—the
+most unfortunate of my life.” The payments
+due him from Kinsky did not come, because
+of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s
+love of music and the theater had greatly embarrassed
+him financially. Even the giving
+of a concert which he contemplated had to be
+abandoned in consequence of the bad times.</p>
+
+<p>The idea of a journey to London now took
+possession of him all the more strongly because
+of the straits to which he was reduced.
+This journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking”
+referred to above. It is deserving
+of special mention here, because to it we are
+indebted for the ninth symphony.</p>
+
+<p>Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had
+built a panharmonicum, and was anxious to
+make the journey to London in company with
+Beethoven. He had had the burning of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>
+Moscow set for his instrument; and he now
+wanted a musical representation of the next
+great event of the time—Wellington’s victory
+at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to Beethoven.
+Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and
+love of England induced him to adopt it, and
+this was the origin of the <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
+(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance
+with Maelzl’s proposition, he elaborated
+what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
+instrumental composition. It was performed
+before a large audience “for the benefit of the
+warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
+And—, irony of fate!—a work which Beethoven
+himself declared to be a “piece of stupidity,”
+took the Viennese by storm, and at a
+bound, made him very popular in Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>It was performed on the 12th of December,
+1813. The applause was unbounded. All
+the best artists of the city were with him.
+Salieri, Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh,
+Mayseder, and even strangers like Meyerbeer,
+assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the
+ideal foundation of the entire production, for
+that symphony was the expression of the
+awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>
+Anton Schindler, of whom we have already
+spoken more than once, and of whom we shall
+have more to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s
+companion, writes: “All hitherto dissenting
+voices, with the exception of a few professors
+of music, finally agreed that he was worthy of
+the laurel crown.” He rightly calls the production
+of this piece one of the most important
+events in Beethoven’s life; for now the portals
+of the temple of fame were opened wide to receive
+him; and if he had had nothing “nobler
+or better” than this to do in life, he certainly
+would never again feel the want of the good
+things of this world.</p>
+
+<p>His next concern was to turn the occasion
+of the moment to advantage, to give some concerts
+with <i>Wellington’s Victory</i>, and thus obtain
+leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins
+of Athens” also were played at these concerts.
+The success of one aria in particular from that
+composition suggested to one of the singers
+of the court-opera the idea of reviving
+the <i>Fidelio</i>. It then received the form in
+which we have it to-day. And what a hold
+the character of Leonore still had on our
+artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>
+dramatic poet, Treitschke, who again tried to
+abridge the text. He had given expression
+to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
+dungeon, in the words:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?</div>
+<div class="indent">Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?</div>
+<div class="verse">Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft</div>
+<div class="indent">Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,</div>
+<div class="verse">Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,</div>
+<div class="verse">Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will
+never fade from my memory. Beethoven
+came to me in the evening. He read, ran up
+and down the room, murmured, growled, as
+he usually did instead of singing, and tore
+open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently
+begged him in vain to play. To-day he
+placed the text before him and began playing
+wonderful melodies, which unfortunately no
+charm could preserve. The hour passed.
+Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation.
+Supper was served but he would allow
+no one to disturb him. It grew quite late.
+He then put his arms about me and hurried
+home. A few days after the piece was
+finished.”</p>
+
+<p>At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>
+kingdom is in the air. My soul trills as the
+winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short
+I assure you, the opera will win the crown of
+martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s sorrows
+and victory found expression a second time;
+for now the so-called <i>Fidelio</i> overture (E major)
+was composed. At its performance on the
+23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the
+very first act, enthusiastically called for and
+enthusiastically greeted. The applause increased
+with every succeeding performance.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven was now one of the best known
+characters in Vienna. He had, even before
+this, given several concerts of his own, and at
+several others music composed by him had
+been performed. His picture by Letronne
+appeared at this time. “It is as natural as
+life,” said Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the
+26th of September, received with his music of
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, the assemblage of monarchs who
+had come to attend the Congress of Vienna;
+and what was more natural than that he
+should now greet them with something new
+in the nature of festal music? He did this
+with the cantata, <i>Der glorreiche Augenblick</i>
+(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>
+of it took place in the ever memorable
+Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814,
+when Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,”
+and what was more, before the educated of
+Europe, by the mere assistance of his art,
+helped celebrate the solemn moment which
+did away with oppression and tyranny and
+marked the beginning of a new and happier
+period. His audience was numbered by
+thousands, and “the respectful absence of all
+loud signs of applause gave the whole the
+character of worship. Every one seemed to
+feel that never again would there be such a
+moment in his life.” This extract is from
+Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places “the
+ecstasy of all present found expression in the
+loudest applause, applause which drowned the
+powerful accompaniment of the composer.”
+The <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i> (battle-symphony) as
+well as the seventh symphony, contributed to
+the achievement of this victory. After it was
+over, he wrote to the archduke: “I am still
+exhausted by fatigue, vexation, pleasure and
+joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering
+impression made on him by those days, we
+must refer to his diary of the following spring,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>
+when all that he had then experienced took a
+definite form in his feelings and consciousness.
+He then writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May
+it be a sanctuary of art.... Let me live, even
+if I have to have recourse to ‘assistance,’ and such
+means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be perfected
+if possible, and then travel! This you owe to
+man and the Almighty. Only thus can you develop
+what is locked up within you. The court of a prince,
+a little orchestra to write music for, and to produce it,
+for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
+Thus may my last years pass away, and to
+future humanity....”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>He breaks off here as if he did not need to
+express an opinion on what he aimed at achieving
+and left after him as an inheritance. But
+the reputation which he had acquired is correctly
+described as “one of the greatest ever
+won by a musician.” And now, more than
+ever before, he was the object of universal
+attention, especially at the brilliant entertainments
+given by the Russian ambassador, count
+Rasumowsky, to the monarchs present, on one
+of which occasions he was presented to them.
+The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a
+special “compliment.” She did so at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>
+palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
+celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher.
+At a court concert on the 25th of January,
+1815, he accompanied the <i>Adelaide</i> for Florestan
+Wild himself; and Schindler closes his
+account of it with the words: “The great
+master recalled those days with much feeling,
+and with a certain pride once said that he
+had made the great pay their court to him,
+and that with them he had always preserved his
+dignity.” He thus verified what, as we saw
+alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
+them clearly understand what they possess in
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>The “assistance” he longed for came in the
+form of presents from monarchs, especially of
+the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of
+Russia, for whom he, at that time, wrote the
+polonaise, op. 89. These presents enabled him
+to make a permanent investment of twenty
+thousand marks, which his friends were very
+much surprised to find he owned, after his
+death. But, although by “decree” he drew
+yearly the sum of 2,700 marks, his principal
+source of income continued to be derived from
+his intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>
+brother Karl died and left him, as an inheritance,
+so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
+after his father—the mother not being a fit
+person to take care of the child, and, besides,
+not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
+struggles for his “son,” <i>the unfortunate
+nephew</i>, with the mother, whom he was wont
+to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
+succeeding years of his life with legal controversies
+and negotiations to such an extent
+that they seem to have hindered him in his
+work. Extreme trouble of mind, brought
+about by the social and political degeneration
+of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon
+entirely obscured the lustre of the days we
+have just described; and it was only for short
+moments of time, as on the occasion of the
+celebrated concert of the year 1824, that we
+see his old pride and fame revive. The works
+performed at that concert were the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>
+and the Ninth Symphony. The former
+was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
+Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a
+reflection of the soul of the artist himself as we
+have heard him describe it above. The symphony
+was written “for London;” whither in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>
+these saddening times his eyes were directed,
+and which, although he never undertook the
+contemplated journey thither, became the incentive
+to the composition of many important
+works.</p>
+
+<p>Among the works which date from 1814
+and 1815, we may mention the sonata, op. 90,
+a “struggle between the head and the heart,”
+addressed in the summer of 1814 to Count
+Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage
+to a Vienna singer; the song <i>Merkenstein</i>
+(op. 100), composed in the winter of
+1814; Tiedge’s <i>Hoffnung</i> (op. 94), composed
+after the last court concert for the singer
+Wild; the chorus <i>Meeresstille und Glueckliche
+Fahrt</i> (op. 112), which was written in 1815,
+and in 1822, “most respectfully dedicated to
+the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the magnificent
+cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess
+Erdoedy, who became reconciled with him once
+more during this winter, after there had been
+a variance between them for a time. He calls
+the first of these sonatas the “free sonata,”
+and, indeed, freedom now became the characteristic
+of his higher artistic pictures. The
+<i>adagio</i> of the second discloses to us, in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>
+choral-like construction of its theme, the prevailing
+religious direction taken by his
+thoughts, which is also apparent in very many
+expressions and quotations to be found in his
+diary.</p>
+
+<p>We have already mentioned the <i>Liederkreis</i>,
+op. 98. Beethoven worked at it and at the
+sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter,
+an expression of the deepest poetry of the
+soul, was ready the following year, and was
+dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear
+Dorothea Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly
+understood the meaning of Beethoven’s
+music, became a real propagandist of his compositions
+for the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn
+could say that he had “learned much” from
+her deeply expressive execution. The noble
+lady had lost her only son during the absence
+of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
+and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition
+of mind bordering on melancholy, by
+coming to her and playing for her until she
+burst into tears. “The spell was broken.”
+“We finite creatures with an infinite mind are
+born only for suffering and for joy; and we
+might almost say that the best of human kind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>
+obtain joy only through their sorrow.” Thus
+spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and
+this little incident confirms its truth. His
+own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
+musical creations, and these creations were to
+him “the dearest gift of heaven,” and, as it
+were, a consolation from on high.</p>
+
+<p>But to continue our biography.</p>
+
+<p>When, after a violent contest with the
+mother, he was made sole guardian of his
+nephew, and could then call him his own, he
+seems, as a lady whose diary is embodied in
+the little book <i>Eine stille Liebe zu Beethoven</i>,
+informs us, to gain new life. He devoted
+himself heart and soul to the boy, and he
+wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
+care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow.
+We can readily understand how it came to
+pass that he now penned the words found by
+the lady just mentioned, in a memorandum
+book of his: “My heart overflows at the
+aspect of the beauties of nature—and this
+without her.” His “distant loved one” was
+still to him the most valued possession of his
+life—more to him, even, than himself.</p>
+
+<p>He had now in view several great projects—among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>
+them an opera, <i>Romulus</i>, by Treitschke,
+and an oratorio for the recently founded “Society
+of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna.
+The latter failed, through the niggardliness of
+the directors, and the former was not finished,
+although our artist never gave up the intention
+of completing it. In the autumn of 1816, an
+English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
+write a symphony, for two hundred ducats.
+But as the general wanted it written in the
+style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself
+refused to accept the commission. Yet this
+narrow English enthusiast had excited Beethoven’s
+imagination with glowing accounts of
+the harvest of profit he might reap in England,
+and as Beethoven had recently sold many of
+his works there, and as, besides, the new
+“Philharmonic Society” had handsomely remunerated
+him for these overtures, his intention
+of crossing the Channel began to assume
+a more definite form. His <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
+(battle-symphony), especially, had already met
+with a very flattering reception in England.
+And a project was on foot in that country, even
+now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
+of his own works; and such a “benefit”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>
+was actually given for him there when he was
+on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it
+would flatter him to be able to write some new
+works, such as symphonies and an oratorio, for
+the Society which embraced a greater number
+of able musicians than almost any other in
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p>His diary covering this period to 1818, published
+in the work <i>Die Beethovenfeier und die
+deutsche Kunst</i>, because of the many items of
+interest it has in it, contains these characteristic
+lines: “Drop operas and everything else.
+Write only in your own style.” But even the
+sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark
+accompanying them: “2. Symphony in
+D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony
+in D minor—3. Symphony.” Belonging to
+the years succeeding 1812, we find drafts of the
+<i>scherzo</i> of the Ninth Symphony. The headings
+above given undoubtedly had reference to this
+last, but the sketches of the first movement,
+decisive of the character of such a work, are
+not to be found until the year 1816, but then
+they are found with the physiognomy so masculine
+and so full of character which distinguishes
+this “symphony for London.” He once said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>
+of Englishmen that they were, for the most
+part, “clever fellows;” and he—of whom
+Zelter wrote to Goethe, that “he must have
+had a man for his mother”—felt that, in England,
+he, as a man, had to do with men, and,
+as an artist, to enter the list with Handel,
+whose own powerful influence was due to his
+decided manfulness of character. And then,
+had not England produced a tragic poet like
+Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all
+others? Deep, tragic earnestness, and a masculine
+struggle with fate, are here the fundamental
+tone and design of the whole. “And
+then a cowl when thou closest thy unhappy
+life”—such is the conclusion of the lines
+quoted above, in which he says that he must
+write “only in his own style.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, in July, 1817, came from London
+the “direct commission” he had so long endeavored
+to obtain. The Society desired
+to send him a proof of their esteem and
+gratitude for the many happy moments his
+works had given them to enjoy, and invited
+him to come to London to write two great
+symphonies, promising him an honorarium of
+three hundred pounds sterling. Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>
+immediately accepted the commission, and
+assured them that he would do his very best
+to execute it—honorable as it was to him, and
+coming as it did from so select a society of
+artists—in the worthiest manner possible.
+He promised to go to work immediately.
+“He believed that he could nowhere receive
+the distinction which his gigantic genius—in
+advance of his age by several centuries—deserved,
+as he could in Great Britain. The
+respect shown him by the English people,
+he valued more than that of all Europe
+besides. The feeling he had of his own
+powers may, indeed, have contributed to make
+him prefer the English nation to all others,
+especially as they showered so many marks of
+distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his
+most intimate friends in Vienna, Baron Von
+Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain it
+is that he did his very best on this work. It,
+as well as the symphony in C minor, is of
+the true Beethoven type—more so, perhaps,
+than any other of his works—the full picture
+of his own personal existence and of the
+tragedy of human life in general. This work
+was followed by the Tenth Symphony, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>
+“poetical idea,” at least, of which we know.
+The first movement was intended to represent
+a “feast of Bacchus,” the <i>adagio</i> a <i>cantique
+ecclesiastique</i>, a church hymn, and the <i>finale</i>
+the reconciliation of the antique world, which
+he esteemed so highly with the spirit of
+Christianity, into the full depth of which he
+came to have a deeper insight every day that
+passed. We see that he had lofty plans, and
+that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights
+than he. We must bear these great plans
+and labors of Beethoven in mind if we would
+rightly understand his subsequent life—if we
+would comprehend how, in the desolate and
+distracted existence he was compelled henceforth
+to lead, he did not become a victim of
+torpidity, but that, on the contrary, the elasticity
+of his genius grew greater and greater,
+and that his creations gained both in depth
+and perfection.</p>
+
+<p>Thus do we see with our own eyes at least
+one of his works born of his own life.</p>
+
+<p>The songs <i>Ruf von Berge</i> and <i>So oder so</i>,
+were composed in the winter of 1816-17; and
+in the following spring, after the sudden death
+of one of his friends, the chorus <i>Rasch tritt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>
+der Tod</i>, from Schiller’s Tell. “O God, help
+me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind.
+O hard fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no,
+my unhappy condition will never end. Thou
+hast no means of salvation but to leave here.
+Only by so doing canst thou rise to the height
+of thy art. Here thou art immersed in vulgarity.
+Only one symphony, and then away,
+away, away!” Thus does he write in his
+diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
+fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great
+sonata for the Hammer-clavier, op. 106. The
+<i>adagio</i> of the latter is the musical expression
+of earnest prayer to God. Its first movement
+shows how he had soared once more to the
+heights of his art. “The sonata was written
+under vexatious circumstances,” he says to his
+friend Ries; and to a younger fellow-artist,
+the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go
+on. There is no calmer, more unalloyed or
+purer joy than that which arises from ascending
+higher and higher into the heaven
+of art.” Such, too, was his mood in those
+days when he promised his friend Zmeskall
+the trio for the piano in C minor, his op. 1,
+worked over into the quintet op. 104; for he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>
+wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave,
+without music, every day.” In keeping with
+this is the song, <i>Lisch aus, mein Licht</i>, “Put
+out my light,” which also belongs to this
+period. The supplication: “O hear me always,
+Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
+unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all
+mortals,” found in his diary, belongs to this
+same time. It is now easy to see that he was
+in a very suitable frame of mind when he
+resolved, in 1818, to write a solemn mass for
+the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
+pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz.
+It was the “little court,” the “little orchestra”
+for which he wished to write the music “for
+the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the
+Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of making
+him his <i>capellmeister</i> there. After four years’
+labor, the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>, op. 123, was finished.
+Beethoven called it “<i>l’œuvre le plus
+accompli</i>, my most finished work.” And, like
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, it is deserving of this characterization,
+but more on account of the pains
+taken with it and the labor expended on it
+than of its matter.</p>
+
+<p>“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>
+life to thy art. O, God above all! For Providence
+eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
+or unhappiness of mortal men.” With
+these words from the Odyssey, he resolved
+to consecrate himself to this great work.
+And it was a resolve in very deed. For, as
+in opera, he knew that he was here bound
+by traditionary forms—forms which, indeed,
+in some details afforded rich food to his own
+thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered
+the natural flow of his fancy. We now
+approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
+which he was strangely secluded from the
+world. The painter, Kloeber, the author of
+the best known portrait of Beethoven, and
+which is to be found in <i>Beethoven’s Brevier</i>—it
+was painted during the summer of 1818—once
+saw him throw himself under a fir
+tree and look for a longtime “up into the
+heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
+conversations—for it was now necessary for him
+to have recourse to putting his conversations
+on paper more frequently on account of his increasing
+deafness—he wrote in the winter of
+1819-20: “Socrates and Jesus were patterns
+to me;” and after that: “The moral law within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>
+us and the starry heavens above us.—Kant!!!”
+Just as on the 4th of March, 1820, he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Ernte bald an Gottes Thron</div>
+<div class="verse">Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This was the time of the struggles with the
+mother of his “son” and of the heartfelt sorrow
+he had to endure on account of the moral
+ruin of the poor boy himself, who, always
+going from the one to the other, did not really
+know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore,
+deceived both. “From the heart—may
+it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these
+words on the score of the mass; and Schindler,
+who was now his companion, says that
+“the moment he began this work his whole
+nature seemed to change.” He would sit in
+the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
+to order his meals, and then want to pay for
+them. “Some say he is a fool,” wrote Zelter
+to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us
+“he actually seemed possessed in those days,
+especially when he wrote the fugue and the
+<i>Benedictus</i>.” That fugue, <i>Et vitam senturi</i>
+(life everlasting!) is the climax of the work,
+since the depiction of the imperishableness
+and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>
+powerful mind was most used to.
+The wonderful <i>Benedictus</i>, (Blessed is he who
+cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones
+seem to float down from heaven to earth, the
+bestowal of help from on high, was subsequently
+the model used by Wagner for his
+descent of the Holy Grail, the symbol of divine
+grace, in the prelude to the <i>Lohengrin</i>.
+“When I recall his state of mental excitement,
+I must confess that I never before, and never
+after this period of his complete forgetfulness
+of earth, observed anything like it in him.”
+So says Schindler. They had gone to visit
+him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired
+in the interest of his health, and where he
+loved so well to “wander through the quiet
+forest of firs” and think out his works. It
+was four o’clock in the afternoon. The door
+was closed, and they could hear him “singing,
+howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they
+had listened to this “almost horrible” scene,
+the door opened, and Beethoven stood before
+them, with trouble depicted on his countenance.
+He looked as if he had just gone
+through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
+doings here; everybody is gone, and I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>
+not eaten a morsel since yesterday noon,” he
+said. He had worked the previous evening
+until after midnight; and so the food had
+grown cold and the servants left in disgust.</p>
+
+<p>His work assumed greater and greater dimensions
+as he himself gradually rose to the
+full height of the subject. He no longer
+thought of completing it for the installation
+ceremonies. It became a grand fresco painting—a
+symphony in choruses on the words
+of the mass. He now began to work more
+calmly, and to compose at intervals other
+works, in order to quiet his over-excited mind
+and to earn a living for his “dear” nephew.
+And thus, while he was composing his mass, he
+produced not only the <i>Variirten Themen</i>, op.
+105 and 107, which Thompson, of Edinburg—who
+had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs
+like op. 108 to be arranged—had ordered, but
+also the three <i>Last Sonatas</i>, op. 109, dedicated
+to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to
+whose excellent father he was indebted for
+ready assistance during these years of his
+pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which
+was finished at Christmas, 1821, as op. 111
+was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>
+that he entertained a higher opinion himself
+of these sonatas than of his previous ones.
+They are greatly superior, however, only in
+some of their movements; and they are written
+in the grand, free style of that period, especially
+the <i>arietta</i> in the last opus, the variations
+of which are real pictures of his own
+soul. In the intervals between them, however,
+we find some trifles such as the <i>Bagatellen</i>,
+op. 119, which his pecuniary condition
+made it imperative he should compose, since,
+“as a brave knight by his sword, he had to
+live by his pen.” And even the “<i>33 Veraenderungen</i>”
+(variations), op. 120, on the works
+of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the
+intellectual play of the inexhaustible fancy of
+an artist than the work of the genuine gigantic
+creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly
+possessed. He had overtaxed his strength
+working on the mass, and thus exhausted it
+for a moment. The two chorus-songs, op.
+121<sup>b</sup> and op. 122, the <i>Opferlied</i> and <i>Bundeslied</i>,
+which date from the year 1822-23, bear
+the stamp of occasional compositions, which
+they, in fact, are.</p>
+
+<p>But in the meantime the lion had roused<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>
+himself again. He now only needed to give
+the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the
+spring of 1823 the entire work was completed.
+The summer of 1822 found him fully engaged
+on the composition of that monument
+to his genius, the Ninth Symphony. Freedom
+from the torment of exhausting labor, and the
+entire surrender of himself to “his own style,”
+gave his fancy back its old elasticity and all
+its productive power. Scarcely any year of
+his life was more prolific of works than this
+year 1822.</p>
+
+<p>“Our Beethoven seems again to take a
+greater interest in music, which, since the
+trouble with his hearing began to increase, he
+avoided almost as a woman-hater avoids the
+sex. To the great pleasure of all, he improvised
+a few tunes in a most masterly manner.”
+Thus do we read in the Leipzig <i>Musikzeitung</i>,
+in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
+John Russell, gives us a charming description
+of such an evening in the Cotta <i>Beethovenbuch</i>.
+Weisse’s droll poem, <i>Der Kuss</i> (the kiss) op.
+128, is found among the serious sketches of
+this year. And now he received a whole
+series of commissions. An English captain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>
+named Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and
+Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic poem worthy
+of his art, before he “hung up his harp
+forever.” Others asked for other kinds of
+music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
+Johann, “people are fighting to get works from
+me, happy, unhappy man that I am. If my
+health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
+my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him,
+too, a commission from Breitkopf and Haertel
+to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives
+us a very interesting account of Beethoven’s
+appearance and whole mode of life at this
+time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage
+exterior, he says, not his bushy black
+hair, which hung bristling about his head,
+would have stirred him; what stirred him was
+the whole appearance of the deaf man who,
+notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to
+the hearts of millions—pure, intellectual joy.
+But when he received the commission, he
+raised his hand high up and exclaimed:
+“That might be worth while. But I have
+been intending for some time to write three
+other great works—two great symphonies, very
+different from each other, and an oratorio. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>
+shudder at the thought of beginning works of
+such magnitude. But once engaged on them,
+I shall find no difficulty.” He spoke of the
+Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun
+to give the finishing touches, in all earnestness.</p>
+
+<p>This was interrupted for a short time by
+the overture, <i>Zur Weihe des Hauses</i> (op. 124),
+for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt
+theater with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812.
+It is the portal to the temple in which art is
+praised as something consecrated to the service
+of mankind—as a thing which may lift
+us for blissful moments into the region of the
+purifying and elevating influences of higher
+powers. Even in this work, which dates from
+September, 1822, we may hear the solemn
+sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony.
+And, indeed, after a memorandum on the
+“Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches
+of it the words, “Finale, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,”
+together with the wonderfully simple
+melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s
+better self like the music of its own redemption.
+Beethoven’s own nature was deeply
+moved at this time. Weber’s <i>Freischuetz</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>
+with Wilhelmine Schroeder, afterwards so
+celebrated, had excited the greatest enthusiasm.
+Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like
+an opeotheosis;” and Beethoven was determined
+to let the light of his genius shine forth,
+which he could do only by writing a work
+“in his own style.” The world was “his for
+another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
+that evening to account. And, indeed, had
+he not a world of sorrows to paint—sorrows
+which actual life had brought to him? He
+had also a world of joys—joys vouchsafed to
+him by his surrendering of himself to a higher
+life.</p>
+
+<p>An incident which occurred during this fall
+of 1822 tells us something of this gloomy night
+of his personal existence. Young Schroeder-Devrient,
+encouraged by her success with
+<i>Pamina</i> and <i>Agathe</i>, had chosen the <i>Fidelio</i>
+for her benefit, and Beethoven himself was to
+wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even
+during the first scene of the opera, everything
+was in confusion, but that no one cared to
+utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible
+for you, unfortunate man.” Schindler finally,
+in response to Beethoven’s own questioning,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>
+wrote something to that effect down. In a
+trice, Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying
+only: “Quick, out of here!” He ran
+without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself
+on the sofa, covered his face with his two
+hands, and remained in that position until
+called to table. But, even at table, he did not
+utter a word. He sat at it, the picture of the
+deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account of
+the incident closes thus: “In all my experience
+with Beethoven, this November day is
+without a parallel. It mattered not what disappointments
+or crosses misfortune brought
+him, he was ill-humored only for moments,
+sometimes depressed. He would, however,
+soon be himself again, lift his head proudly,
+walk about with a firm step, and rule in the
+workshop of his genius. But he never fully
+recovered from the effect of this blow.”</p>
+
+<p>The performance itself brought out, for
+the first time, in all its completeness, musico-dramatic
+art, in the representation of the
+scene, “Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner,
+who has so highly developed this musico-dramatic
+art, admits that he acquired the real
+idea of plastic shaping for the stage from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>
+Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
+owed it that he was invited, during the same
+winter (1822-23), to compose a new opera. It
+was Grillparzer’s <i>Melusine</i>, but the intention
+to compose it was never carried into effect.</p>
+
+<p>We have now reached the zenith of the
+life of Beethoven as an artist. Besides the
+Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five
+last quartets which beam in their numerous
+movements like “the choir of stars about the
+sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition
+of these last came to him just at this time
+from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
+him a commission to write them, telling him
+at the same time to ask what remuneration he
+wished for his work. But the Symphony filled
+up the next following year, 1823. Nothing
+else, except the “fragmentary ideas” of the
+<i>Bagatellen</i>, op. 126, engaged him during that
+time.</p>
+
+<p>“To give artistic form only to what we
+wish and feel, that most essential want of the
+nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself
+to the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes
+this mighty symphony, and constitutes,
+so to speak, the sum and substance of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>
+his own life and intuition. This symphony
+was soon connected in popular imagination
+with Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic
+course of human existence.</p>
+
+<p>And when we hear in mind how closely
+related just here the musician was to the poet,
+this interpretation of the work, given first by
+Richard Wagner on the occasion of its presentation
+in 1846 in Dresden, seems entirely
+warranted. What was there of which life had
+not deprived him? The words it had always
+addressed to him were these words from Faust:
+<i>Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren</i> (renounce
+thou must, thou must renounce). He now
+wished to paint a full picture of this vain
+struggle with relentless fate in tones, and what
+he had just gone through in his own experience
+enabled him to do it in living colors. All
+the recollections of his youth crowded upon
+him. There were the “pretty lively blonde”
+whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta,
+who had a short time before returned
+to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
+loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through
+the lovely Heiligenstadt valley, in the spring
+of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>
+of the reconciling power of nature, as well as
+of the <i>Pastorale</i> and the C minor symphony.
+He was now able to form an idea of their
+common meaning, and to put an interpretation
+on them very different from his first idea and
+first interpretation of them. He began to have
+a much deeper insight into the ultimate questions
+and enigmas of existence.</p>
+
+<p>But, all of a sudden, his humor left him.
+He refused to receive any visitors. “Samothracians,
+come not here; bring no one to me,”
+he wrote to Schindler, from the scene of his
+quiet life in the country. What had never
+happened before, even when he was in the
+highest stages of intellectual exaltation, now
+came to pass: he repeatedly returned from his
+wanderings through the woods and fields without
+his hat. “There is nothing higher than
+to approach nearer to the Deity than other
+men, and from such proximity to spread the
+rays of the Deity among the human race.”
+In these words, directed to the Archduke
+Rudolph, he summed up his views of his art
+and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
+was everything to him—a language, consolation,
+admonition, light and prophecy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>This we learn most clearly from the Ninth
+Symphony, which he finished at this time, in
+Baden.</p>
+
+<p>From the dark abyss of nothing arises the
+Will, infinite Will: and with it the struggles
+and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer
+personal sorrow—for what is personal sorrow
+compared with the sorrow of the world as
+known to a great mind, experienced by a great
+heart?—it is the struggle for a higher existence
+which we “mortals have to engage in
+against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time
+did I curse my Creator because he has made
+his creatures the victims of the merest accidents.”
+Cries of anguish and anger like this—the
+cries of great souls whose broad vision is
+narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
+will is hampered—find utterance here. “I
+shall take fate by the jaws,” he says again,
+and how immense is the struggle as well as
+the consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession,
+which lives as a promise in the breasts
+of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
+such despair; and then, again, such
+strength and courage after trial, had never
+before been expressed in music. In the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>
+Ninth Symphony, we hear the voices of the
+powers which through all ages have been the
+makers of history; of the powers which preserve
+and renovate the life of humanity; and
+so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
+effort and concentration of self, stands firmly
+before us, bold and clear-eyed—for Will is
+the world itself.</p>
+
+<p>But when we see the man Beethoven, we
+find him divided against himself. We have
+often heard him say that he found the world
+detestable; and we shall again hear him express
+his opinion on that subject plainly
+enough, in this his work.</p>
+
+<p>In the second movement, which he himself
+calls only <i>allegro vivace</i>, and which, indeed, is
+no <i>scherzo</i>, not even a Beethoven-like one,
+but rather a painting, we have a dramatic
+picture of the earthly world in the whirl of
+its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of
+mere existence—such as he himself frequently
+experienced in such fullness that he leaped
+over chairs and tables—to the raging, uncontrollable
+Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment.
+But we have in it also a fresco painting
+of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>
+the existing, of exultation and jubilation as
+well as of the demoniacal in sensuous life and
+pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction
+this splendid symphony affords to a noble
+mind! It carries such a man from the arms of
+pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature,
+from appearance to reality.</p>
+
+<p>This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime
+order of the world, which calms our minds
+and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
+is heard in the <i>adagio</i> of the work. And
+when, in an incomparably poetical union to
+the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
+ordered course of things, the longing,
+perturbed human heart is contrasted by a
+second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty
+never before imagined, we at last see the soul,
+so to speak, disappear entirely before itself,
+dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
+steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the
+final chords, sound like the death knell of the
+human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
+in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to
+naught.</p>
+
+<p>But the world is man, is the heart, and
+wants to live, to live! And so here the final<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>
+echo is still the longing, sounding tones of
+human feeling.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the
+development of this powerful tragedy, and
+thus confirms the explanation of it we have
+given, as well as the persistence of ultimate
+truth in his own heart; for in it we find—after
+the almost raging cry of all earthly existence
+in the orchestral storm of the beginning of
+the <i>finale</i>, which was even then called a “feast
+of scorn at all that is styled human joy”—in
+the sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives
+of the contra-bassos: “No, this confusion reminds
+us of our despairing condition. This is
+a magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with
+song.” And then follows the theme of the
+first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is
+something else that I am craving.” “The will
+and consciousness of man are at variance the
+one with the other, and the cause of man’s
+despairing situation.” Next comes the <i>motive</i>
+for the <i>scherzo</i>: “Nor is it this thing either;
+it is but merriness and small talk”—the trifles
+of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of
+the <i>adagio</i>: “Nor is it this thing either,” and
+thereupon the words: “I myself shall sing—music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>
+must console us, music must cheer us;”
+and then the melody, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,
+is heard, expressive of the newly-won
+peace of the soul, descriptive of human
+character in the full beauty of its simplicity
+and innocence restored. Beethoven knew from
+what depths of human nature music was born,
+and what its ultimate meaning to mankind is.</p>
+
+<p>We are made to experience this more fully
+still by the continuation of the <i>finale</i> which
+represents the solution of the conflict of this
+tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here
+sung plainly springs from its only pure and
+lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
+love—that feeling which, as religion, fills
+the heart. The <i>Ihr stuerzt nieder, Millionen</i>
+is the foundation, the germ (to express it in
+the language of music of double counterpoint)
+of the <i>Seid umschlungen, Millionen</i>,
+and then the whole sings of joy as the transfiguration
+of the earthly world by eternal love.
+The will can accomplish nothing greater than
+to sacrifice itself for the good of the whole.
+To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful
+phenomenon in the world was not the
+conqueror but the overcomer of the world;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>
+and he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.</p>
+
+<p>This is celebrated by the <i>finale</i> as the last
+consequence of the “struggle with fate,” of
+man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
+to say that out of the spirit of this music a
+“new civilization” and an existence more
+worthy of human beings might be developed,
+since it leads us back to the foundation and
+source of civilization and human existence—to
+religion? Beethoven was one of those
+great minds who have added to the intellectual
+possessions of our race in regions which extend
+far beyond the merely beautiful in art.
+When we bear this in mind, we can understand
+why he wanted to write a tenth symphony
+as the counterpart and final representation
+of these highest conceptions of the nature
+and goal of our race. This tenth symphony
+he intended should transfigure the merely humanly
+beautiful of the antique world in the
+light of the refined humanity of modern ideas—the
+earthly in the light of the heavenly. And
+we may understand, too, what we are told of
+himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed
+in his countenance, it shed about him all the
+charms of childlike innocence. “When he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>
+smiled,” we are told, “people believed not
+only in him, but in humanity.” Occasionally
+there would blossom on his lips a smile which
+those who saw could find no other word to describe
+but “heavenly.” So full was his heart
+of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.</p>
+
+<p>We shall see how the last quartets, which
+follow now, represent this, his sublime transfigured
+condition of soul, in the most varied
+pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Of works composed during this period, we
+may mention: March to “Tarpeja” and the
+<i>Bardengeist</i> composed in 1813; <i>Gute Nachricht</i>,
+<i>Elegischer Gesang</i>, <i>Kriegers Abschied</i>,
+composed in 1814; Duos for the clarionette and
+bassoon, which appeared in 1815; <i>Es ist vollbracht</i>,
+<i>Sehnsucht</i>, Scotch songs, composed in
+1815; <i>Der Mann von Wort</i>, op. 99. <i>Militaermarsch</i>,
+composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
+(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; <i>Clavierstueck</i>
+in B, composed in 1818; <i>Gratulations-menuet</i>,
+composed in 1822. It will be noticed
+that the number of his works grows steadily
+smaller according as their volume or their
+depth of meaning grows greater. This last will
+be evident especially from his subsequent quartets
+which, so to speak, stand entirely alone.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1824-27.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE LAST QUARTETS.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The
+Great Concert of May, 1824—Preparation for It—Small
+Returns—Beethoven Appreciated—First Performance of
+the Missa Solemnis and of the Ninth Symphony—The
+Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture on
+B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His
+Works—His Brother Johann—Postponement of His Journey
+to London—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration
+of Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the
+Young Man—Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The
+“Magnanimous” English—Calls a Clergyman—His
+Death.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Noble</span> souls fall usually only because they
+do not know the mournful but incontestable
+truth that, considering our present customs
+and political institutions, the artist has more
+to suffer in proportion as he is a genuine artist.
+The more original and gigantic his
+works are, the more severely is he punished
+for the effects they produce. The swifter and
+sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish
+from the dim vision of the multitude.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>
+Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor in art,
+Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his
+days; and to whom can what he says here be
+applied with more propriety than to our artist,
+especially at this period of his life, when his
+thoughts took their sublimest flight? His
+action now seemed indeed to assure him unconditional
+victory, even in his immediate
+environment—we are approaching the celebrated
+concert of May, 1824—but how soon
+shall we see him again misunderstood by the
+crowd and, as a consequence, lonelier than ever
+before.</p>
+
+<p>He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher
+life which art and science imply, and which
+they give it to us to hope for;” and he, in
+consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of
+himself; so that his brother found it necessary
+to say to him: “You must buy yourself a new
+hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your
+expense because you have so bad a hat.” But
+now that the “colossal creation” was finished,
+even to the last iota, he began to be in better
+humor, to stroll about the streets gazing at the
+show-windows, and to salute many an old
+friend, as, for instance, his former teacher,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>
+Schenk, more warmly. His name was now
+more frequently on the lips of friends, and
+when it was known that a great symphony, as
+well as the Mass, was finished, people recalled
+the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
+and a letter signed by men of the higher
+classes of society—men whom Beethoven himself
+loved and honored—invited him, in February,
+1824, to abstain no longer from the
+performance of something great. And, indeed,
+the Italian <i>roulade</i> and all kinds of
+purely external <i>bravoura</i> had obtained supremacy
+in Vienna. The “second childhood of
+taste” threatened to follow the “golden age
+of art.” It was hoped that home art would
+receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his
+own sphere, had no equal, and that, thanks to
+his influence, the true and the beautiful would
+rule supreme again.</p>
+
+<p>Schindler found him with the manuscript
+in his hand. “It is very pretty! I am glad!”
+Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
+another hope was bound up with this. He
+hoped to obtain compensation for his long
+labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce
+something new worthy of his genius. The preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>
+for the concert was attended by very
+much that was disagreeable. His own want of
+resolution and suspicious manner contributed
+their share to this. With the most splenetic
+humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation,
+I am boiled, stewed, roasted.” And when
+several of his more intimate friends, like Count
+Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted
+to a little subterfuge to make him come
+to some resolve, he said: “I despise deceit.
+Visit me no more. And let him visit me no
+more. I’m not giving a party.” But, on the
+other hand, the first violinists of the city—Schuppanzigh,
+Mayseder and Boehm, who is
+still living—together with <i>capellmeister</i> Umlauf,
+were at the head of the orchestra, while
+a large number of amateurs were ready to lend
+their assistance at a moment’s notice. Their
+motto was: “Anything and everything for
+Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for
+the performance of Beethoven’s great creations
+were begun.</p>
+
+<p>“Just as if there were words beneath them?”
+asked Schindler, speaking of the powerful recitatives
+of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
+Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>
+subsequently so celebrated, found it exceedingly
+difficult to execute the solos in the Mass
+and the <i>finale</i>; but to all prayers that they
+might be changed, Beethoven had only one
+answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally
+replied: “Well, in God’s name, let us torment
+ourselves a little longer, take a little more
+trouble, and attempt it.” The performance
+was to occur on the 7th of May. That “rare,
+noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
+“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a
+single note. Frau von Ertmann was again in
+Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
+many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven
+personally invited the court. His trusted
+servant, who was specially helpful to him on
+this occasion, said to him: “We shall take
+your green coat with us, too; the theater is
+dark; no one can see us. O my great master,
+not a black dress coat have you in your possession.”
+The house was crowded to over-fullness.
+Only the court box was almost empty,
+on account of the Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s
+attendant again tells us: “His reception
+was more than imperial; at the fourth
+round of applause, the people became vociferous.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>
+And Boehm tells us how the tears
+rushed into his own and Mayseder’s eyes at
+the very beginning. And what a success the
+performance was!</p>
+
+<p>In one of the accounts of it that have come
+down to us, we read: “Never in my life did
+I hear such tempestuous and at the same time
+such hearty applause. At one place—where
+the kettle-drums so boldly take up the rhythmic
+<i>motive</i> alone—the second movement of
+the symphony was totally interrupted by the
+applause; the tears stood in the eyes of the
+performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to
+wield the baton until Umlauf called his attention
+to the action of the audience by a motion
+of his hand. He looked at them and bowed
+in a very composed way.” At the close the
+applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
+say, the man who was the cause of it all again
+turned his back to the enthusiastic audience.
+At this juncture, the happy thought occurred
+to Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards
+the audience, and to ask him to notice their
+applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs.
+He testified his gratitude simply
+by bowing, and this was the signal for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>
+breaking forth of a jubilation such as had
+scarcely ever before been heard in a theater,
+and which it seemed would never end. The
+next day, we read, in his conversation leaves,
+what some one said to him: “Everybody is
+shattered and crushed by the magnitude of
+your works.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, what of the pecuniary success of
+the performance? It was measured by about
+one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses
+attending it had been too great. Besides, regular
+subscribers, entitled to their seats in boxes,
+did not pay a farthing for this concert. The
+court did not send in a penny, which, however,
+they were wont not to fail to do on the occasion
+of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven
+reached his home, Schindler handed him the
+account of the receipts. “When he saw it, he
+broke down entirely. We took him and laid
+him on the sofa. We remained at his side
+until late in the night. He asked neither for
+food nor for anything else. Not an audible
+word did he utter. At last, when we observed
+that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we
+retired. His servant found him next morning
+in his concert toilette (his green dress coat)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>
+in the same place, asleep.” This account is
+by Schindler, who, together with the young
+official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
+Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him
+home on this occasion.</p>
+
+<p>This was the first performance of the <i>Missa
+Solemnis</i> (op. 123) and of the Ninth Symphony
+(op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May,
+1824. The fact that when the performance
+was repeated on the 24th of May, spite of the
+additional attraction of the “adored” tenor,
+David, who sang Rossini’s <i>Di tanti palpiti</i>,
+(after so much pain), the house was half empty,
+shows that, after all, it was more curiosity
+to see the celebrated deaf man than real taste
+for art which had filled it the first time. Like
+Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
+pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius.
+Not till 1845 did the magnanimous liberality
+of one who was really permeated by his spirit
+bring it to pass that a monument was erected
+to him in his native city, Bonn, as that same
+liberality has brought it to pass that one has
+been erected to him, in our own day, in his
+second home, Vienna. We have reference to
+the royal gift and to the equally rich playing
+of Franz Liszt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>It now became more imperative for him to
+give his attention to those compositions which
+promised him some immediate return, to the
+quartets, to write which he had received a
+commission from persons as noted for their
+generosity to him as for their love of art.
+These and the op. 127 occupy the first
+place in this brilliant constellation of art.
+“I am not writing what I should prefer
+to write. I am writing for the money I
+need. When that end is satisfied, I hope
+to write what is of most importance to
+myself and to art—Faust.” He thus expressed
+himself when engaged in the composition
+of the Ninth Symphony, and there
+was some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for
+Boston.” And so, likewise, the German Melusine
+and an opera for Naples, the Requiem,
+the tenth symphony, and an overture on
+B-A-C-H remained projects and no more.
+But they were also a great prospect for the future
+while he was engaged in the labors of
+the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable
+influence on the composition of the quartets
+themselves. The more he became interested
+in these works—and what works were better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>
+calculated to interest a composer of such poetic
+power—the more did these ideas become
+interwoven into the works themselves. They
+generated the peculiarly grand style and
+the monumental character which distinguish
+these last quartets. The soul-pictures from
+Faust especially are here eloquently re-echoed
+in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed,
+the Prince, who had given him the commission
+to write them, seemed to be the very
+man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was
+highest and best in art, even in such a narrow
+sphere. For he had so arranged it that, even
+before its production in Vienna, that “sublime
+masterpiece,” the Mass, was publicly performed.
+He informs us that the effect on the public
+was indescribable; that he had never before
+heard anything, not even of Mozart’s music,
+which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
+genius was centuries in advance of
+his age, and that probably there was not
+among his hearers a single one enlightened
+enough to take in the full beauty of his music.
+On the other hand, there reigned in
+Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the
+restoration, with its idol Rossini, a revelry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>
+which had driven all noble and serious music
+into the background. Besides, the Prince had
+ordered that the costs for musical composition
+should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven now went to work in earnest,
+and this composition was destined to be his
+last.</p>
+
+<p>He had already made a great many drafts
+of the works above mentioned, one for op. 127
+in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding
+quartet in A minor (op. 131), in the year
+1823, when he was completing the Ninth
+Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet
+in A minor remind us, in more ways than
+one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony—the
+latter by its passion so full of pain, the former,
+with its <i>adagio</i>, where the longing glances
+to the stars have generated a wonderful,
+melancholy peace of soul. The immediately
+following third quartet (op. 130) stands out
+before us like a newly created world, but one
+which is “not of this world.” And, indeed,
+the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
+more and more to liberate him, heart
+and soul, from this world, and the whole composition
+of the quartets appears like a preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>
+for the moment when the mind,
+released from existence here, feels united with
+a higher being. But it is not a painfully
+happy longing for death that here finds expression.
+It is the heartfelt, certain and
+joyful feeling of something really eternal and
+holy that speaks to us in the language of a
+new dispensation. And even the pictures of
+the world here to be found, be they serious or
+gay, have this transfigured light—this outlook
+into eternity. There is little in the
+world of art, in which the nature of the
+religious appears so fully in its substance and
+essence without showing itself at any time
+otherwise than purely human, and therefore
+imperishable—never clothed in an accidental
+and perishable garb. This explains how a
+people not noted for any musical genius, but
+who are able to understand the spirit and
+meaning of music, the English, whom Beethoven
+himself esteemed so highly, considered
+his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his
+music is religious in its ultimate meaning and
+spirit. This character of his music finds its
+purest and most striking expression in the last
+quartets; and these quartets enable us to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>
+understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
+Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that
+our civilization might receive a new soul from
+the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
+religion which might permeate it through and
+through.</p>
+
+<p>We now pass to an account of the details
+of the origin of these works.</p>
+
+<p>The bitterness which Beethoven was destined
+henceforth to taste proceeded for the
+most part from his own relatives. “God is
+my witness, my only dream is to get away
+entirely from you, from my miserable brother,
+and from this despicable family which has
+been tied to me,” he writes, in 1825, to his
+growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
+touching on these sad things, because now,
+especially, they exercised the greatest influence
+on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
+and because they finally led to a
+catastrophe which played a part in bringing
+about his premature death.</p>
+
+<p>His weak and “somewhat money-loving”
+brother, Johann, had, indeed, in consequence
+of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference,
+married a silly wife. He found it impossible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>
+to control her course, or even to get a divorce
+from her, because he had made over to her a
+part of his property, and was “inflexible” on
+this very point. And so the brother was not
+able, spite of many invitations, to induce
+Beethoven to visit him even once on his estate
+of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf, on the Danube.
+Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of
+1823: “O accursed shame! Have you not a
+spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself
+by entering such company?” Yet, his
+sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees. But
+the mother of the boy continued, now that he
+was beginning to mature, to draw him into her
+own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven wrote
+in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous
+breath of the dragon; and levity, falsehood
+and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle,
+who was at the same time a father to him,
+followed. Carried away by the impulses of
+his moral feelings, the latter was severe even
+to harshness with the boy, and yet could not
+dispense with the young man’s company because
+of his increasing age and isolation. The
+natural craving for love, moral severity and
+the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>
+texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.</p>
+
+<p>The correspondence of this year, 1824,
+turns principally upon the pecuniary realization
+from his new, great works; for he wanted
+to be in London in the fall without fail. We
+have also a letter of his about his will, to his
+lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He
+writes: “Only in divine art is the power
+which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
+heavenly muses the best part of my life.”
+We hear also the celestial sounds of the
+<i>adagio</i>, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was
+himself filled with this true “manna;” for
+he exclaims in these same summer days,
+“Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me
+to be delivered over to the hands of death, for
+I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
+with and commands me to finish. I feel as if
+I had written scarcely a note.” And we
+even now find the sketches of those pieces
+expressive of a happiness more than earthly,
+or else, in gay irony, of contempt for the existing
+world, or of the mighty building up of
+a new world; the <i>alla danza tedesca</i> and the
+<i>poco scherzando</i> of op. 130, as well as the
+great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>
+be the original <i>finale</i> of op. 130, and which,
+by its superscription, “overture” and the
+gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of
+the plan of the <i>Bachouverture</i>. Even the unspeakably
+deep melancholy and, at the same
+time, blissful, hopeful <i>cavatina</i> of the same
+third quartet op. 130, blossoms forth now
+from the feeling of his heart, which has taken
+into itself the full meaning of the eternal, and
+is filled with a higher joy. We here find, as
+in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs
+of a new and deep-felt language of the heart,
+a real personal language, acquired to humanity
+for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
+which, in our own day, has led to the most
+touching soul-pictures in art—to the transfiguration
+of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying
+song of redeeming love.</p>
+
+<p>A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The
+desolate horrors that surround him endow him
+with the power to understand more clearly
+the higher tasks of the mind in which his
+art had a living part. We see plainly that
+his nature tends more and more towards the
+one thing necessary—“All love is sympathy,”
+sympathy with the sorrows of the world,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>
+says the philosopher. And so while his vision
+takes an immense sweep over the field
+of existence, we see that an inexhaustible
+source of patient goodness and of the kindest
+and most heartfelt love, springs up within
+him. “From childhood up it was my greatest
+happiness to be able to work for others,”
+he once said; and again when the overture,
+op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much
+praised on this account, etc. But what is
+that all to the great Master of Tones above—above—above!
+rightly the Most High, when
+here below it is used only for purposes of ridicule.
+Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen
+to the sublime irony of his tones in op. 130,
+but also to the lustrous mildness of the <i>adagio</i>
+of op. 127, in which in the little movement in
+E major, the human soul itself, filled with the
+spirit of the Eternal, so to speak, opens its eyes
+and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all
+that is, that was and that will be. No mortal
+man has lifted my veil. He comes from Himself
+alone, and to this Only One all things
+owe their existence.” Beethoven wrote out
+this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824,
+framed it and placed it on his writing table<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>
+before him. He well knew what the really
+creative and preserving deity in human life
+is. That deity lived in his own most heartfelt
+thought and feeling. It was to him a continual
+source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To
+it he was indebted for the poetic creations
+which sprung unbidden from his brain.</p>
+
+<p>The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to
+the spring and summer of 1825. His journey
+to London had been postponed. Schindler
+gives as the reason of this, the “bad behavior
+of his dearly beloved nephew, which had become
+somewhat notorious.” How could his
+“son” be abandoned, thus unguarded, to “the
+poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
+invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony
+was again taken in hand, and from the
+sketches of it now made, we know all that is
+certain about it. It was intended to do no
+less than to add the “beautiful to the good,”
+to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty
+of the antique, or rather to transfigure the
+mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
+light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed,
+a picture of this kind, a direct, intentional,
+higher picture of the world in the <i>adagio,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>
+in modo lidico</i>, in the second quartet. It is
+called the “Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent
+to the Deity,” and is a choral between
+the repetitions of which, ever richer
+and more heartfelt, the joyful pulsations of
+new life are expressed. Beethoven had been
+seriously sick during this spring. His affection
+for his nephew had assumed, in consequence
+of one continual irritation of his feelings,
+the nature of a passion which tormented
+the boy to death, but which, like every passion,
+brought no happiness to Beethoven himself.
+The first movement of this quartet in
+A minor is a psychological picture—a poem of
+the passions—the consuming character of
+which can be explained only by this very
+condition of the artist’s own soul. And how
+Beethoven’s creations always came from his
+own great soul, that soul so fully capable of
+every shade of feeling and excitement! The
+account left us by the young poet, Rellstab,
+written in the spring of 1825, gives us a perfect
+description of the state Beethoven was in
+at this time. He describes him “a man with a
+kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
+Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>
+of this description. “In what part of me
+am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to
+his nephew, whose frivolity had already begun
+to bear evil fruit. On another occasion he
+said: “O, trouble me no more. The man
+with the scythe will not respite me much
+longer.”</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps
+because of this extreme excitement of his
+whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very
+rich in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,”
+he had to write the quartet in C sharp
+minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
+130). The last quartet also, that in F major,
+had its origin in that “inexhaustible fancy”—a
+fancy which always tended to the production
+of such works. Hence it is that the
+number of movements increases. The second
+has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the
+fourth (C sharp minor), seven—as if the old
+form of the suite, or the <i>divertimento</i> of the
+septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s
+comparison immediately shows the presence of
+the old organic articulation of the form of the
+sonata. These movements are in fact only
+transitions to, and connecting links between,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>
+two colossal movements. They increase the
+usual number of movements, although frequently
+nothing more than short sentences,
+and at times only a few measures. But the
+introductory movement and the <i>finale</i> in the
+quartet in A minor loom up like the pillars
+of Hercules, and determine the impassioned
+character and the dramatic style of the whole.
+Beethoven himself called it a piece of art
+worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130,
+when the great fugue, op. 133, is considered
+a part of it, which in our day it should always
+be conceded to be. And how immensely great
+is this spirit when, in the quartet in C sharp
+minor, it awakes from the most profound contemplation
+of self to the contemplation of the
+world and its pain.—“Through sorrow, joy!”</p>
+
+<p>We must refer the reader to the third
+volume of <i>Beethoven’s Leben</i>, published in
+Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the
+desolation of our artist, produced by the narrow
+circle with which the restoration of Metternich
+and Gentz surrounded him, at a time
+when his own mind and feeling were expanding
+to greater dimensions than ever before.
+To the same source we must send him for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>
+description of the full earnestness and greatness
+of this last period in the life of our artist.
+In that work was for the first time presented
+to the public, from original sources, and especially
+from the records of Beethoven’s written
+conversations, extant in the Berlin library,
+the comfortless—but at the same time, and
+spite of continual torment, intellectually exalted—picture
+of his character. “Words are
+interdicted. It is a fortunate thing that tones
+are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the poet of
+the oratorio, <i>Saul and David</i>, to him at this
+time—a work in which he wished to give expression
+both to his own relation as a human
+being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working
+nature of his art. The execution of
+this plan was prevented only by death. The
+general demoralization which had invaded
+Vienna with the Congress made its effects felt
+directly in his own circle, through the agency
+of his nephew, and thus paved the way for
+disaster to himself. “Our age has need of
+vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
+miserable wretches,” he cries out at this
+very time to his nephew, who had permitted
+himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>
+to irritate, at the expense of a genuine
+<i>faijak</i>—as Beethoven was wont now to call
+the good Viennese—the music-dealer Haslinger;
+and the matter had become public.
+But he adds to the above: “Much as my heart
+resists causing pain to a single human being.”
+And, indeed, his heart knew nothing of such
+anger or vengeance. It was always a real sympathizer
+with the sorrows born of human
+weakness—a sorrow which with him swelled
+to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself.
+To this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is
+indebted for its series of pictures, in which
+we see the world created, as it were, anew with
+a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy,
+humorous, cheerful coloring of the
+several pieces—pieces which, indeed, are no
+mere sonata movements, but full pictures of
+life and of the soul. The <i>cavatina</i> overtops
+it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
+admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from
+him “fresh tears.”</p>
+
+<p>“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he
+implores his “son.” Speaking of the rabble
+of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer
+the whole week like a saint;” and, on another<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>
+occasion, still more painfully: “May God be
+with, thee and me. It will be all over soon
+with thy faithful father.” His days, so
+strangely divided between the loftiest visions
+of the spirit and the meanest troubles of life,
+henceforth render him more and more indifferent
+to the latter. We find persons invade
+his circle whom otherwise he would never
+have permanently endured about him, and
+who frequently led him into minor sorts of
+dissipation even in public places. This reacted
+on the nephew, whose respect for the
+character of his “great uncle” could not long
+stand a course of action apparently like his
+own. But even now we see a picture in tones
+of which one of the <i>faijaks</i>, the government
+officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied it,
+writes to Beethoven himself: “When one
+can survey it thus calmly, new worlds come
+into being.” We have reference to the quartet
+in C sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look
+beaming with light, dripping with sorrow and
+joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this
+time in beautiful Baden, and, indeed, this
+work, which he himself called the “greatest”
+of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>
+from the Ninth Symphony, the meaning
+of his own life, which he here himself, as
+Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a
+wild melody of pleasure and pain. But we
+now recognize more clearly that something
+“like a vulture is devouring his heart.” We,
+indeed, are drawing near to the catastrophe
+which led to his premature end.</p>
+
+<p>As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed
+“stormy scenes.” An uncontrollable
+love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
+the streets had led the young man into worse
+and worse courses, to falsehood and embezzlement.
+And when these were discovered,
+he secretly ran away from home. It was not
+long, however, before the loving weakness of
+his uncle called him back. The only effect
+of this was henceforth to condemn Beethoven
+himself to a slavish, too slavish life, one which
+would have been a torment even to an ordinary
+mortal, but which must have been doubly so
+to a passionate, great man who was deaf. The
+nephew found fault with his uncle, with his
+“reproaches” and “rows.” He accused him
+even of having led him into had company.
+He dreaded other reproaches still and was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>
+afraid of even personal violence. At last, one
+day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
+the frightful news that his son had left his
+dwelling with a pair of pistols, and intended to
+take his own life. A long and terrible morning
+was spent searching for the unfortunate
+youth, who was finally led home, with a
+wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done
+now. Torment me no longer with reproofs
+and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
+and feeling may be inferred from the words
+found in his conversation leaves: “I have
+grown worse, because my uncle wanted to
+make me better;” and from these others:
+“He said it was not hatred, but a very different
+feeling, that moved him against you.”</p>
+
+<p>The uncle, alas! understood these expressions
+better than those about him. These had
+only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
+“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly
+to be seen in his bent attitude. The man, firm
+and upright in all the movements of his
+body, was gone. A person of about seventy
+was before us—yielding, without a will, the
+sport of every breath of air.” So wrote
+Schindler. Beethoven called for the Bible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>
+“in the real language into which Luther
+had translated it.” A few days later, we
+find in his conversations the following memorandum:
+“On the death of Beethoven.”
+Did he mean his own death, or the death
+of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to
+speak, lost his own life? Be this as it
+may, he now sang the deepest song of his
+soul, and it was destined to be his dying song.
+We refer to the <i>adagio</i> in the last quartet, op.
+135. His harp soon after this grew silent, and
+forever. Henceforth we have only projects or
+fragments of works. But he touched it once
+more, like King Gunther in the Edda, “seated
+among serpents,” the most venomous of
+which—the pangs of his own conscience—menaced
+him with death. Among the pictures
+in which he paints the meaning of a theme
+similar to that of this <i>adagio</i> (pieces thus independent
+of one another cannot rightly be
+called variations), there is one whose minor
+key and rhythm show it to be a funeral ceremony
+of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt
+he may have incurred he atoned for in his
+heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
+His soul is free. This the theme itself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span>
+tells us, eloquently and distinctly. Here the
+soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
+own primeval source, and towards the close
+plumes its wing for a happy, lofty flight, to
+regions it has longed to enter. The other
+pictures show us this full, certain and joyful
+possession of one’s self, and the last even seems
+to resolve the soul into its faculties when it
+floats about the Eternal Being in the most
+blissful happiness—a vision and condition
+which, of all the means of expression of the
+intellect, only music is able to describe, and
+which proves to us that, in the case of our
+artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.</p>
+
+<p>And thus it comes that a movement with
+which there is none to be compared, one which
+to our feelings is the richest and most perfect of
+all movements, and, at the same time, of the
+most brilliant transparency, made its way into
+a work which otherwise shows no trace of the
+magnitude of this his last effort. For the
+<i>finale</i> is only a sham-play of those magic
+powers which our master so well knew how
+to conjure up, both in sublime horror and in
+saving joy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>But his physical condition was soon destined
+to be in keeping with the condition of his soul
+above described. When, indeed, Karl was
+convalescing as well as could be desired, and
+he had decided to follow the military calling,
+Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally
+at least, he again looked fresh and cheerful.
+“He knew,” says Schindler, “how to rise
+superior to his fate, and his whole character
+bore an ‘antique dignity.’” But even now
+he told the old friend of his youth, Wegeler,
+that he intended “to produce only a few more
+great works, and then, like an old child, to
+close his earthly career somewhere among good
+men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature
+seemed shattered. “What dost thou want?
+Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the
+truest resignation sufficient for thee, even if
+thou art in want?” This one conversation
+with Karl tells us everything.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared.
+A single blow, and his powerful,
+manly form was shattered like that of the
+meanest of mortals. And, indeed, that blow
+was struck with almost unexpected violence.</p>
+
+<p>After his recovery, Karl was released by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>
+the police on the express condition that he
+would remain in Vienna only one day more.
+His scar, however, prevented his entering the
+service. Where, then, could he go, now that
+the fall was just beginning? His brother,
+Johann, invited him to his Wasserhof estate
+near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
+as he had once: <i>non possibile per me</i>—impossible
+for me. But his sojourn in a country
+house not constructed so as to guard against
+the cold and dampness, a want of attention to
+his growing infirmity, misunderstandings with
+his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with the
+brother himself, who, after it, refused him the
+use of his close carriage, and, lastly, his departure
+in the cold of winter in the “devil’s
+own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired
+to send our patient back to Vienna, the
+subject of a violent fit of sickness. In addition
+to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician,
+and none visited his sick bed until the
+third day after his return. The doctor who
+came was not Beethoven’s customary physician,
+and totally misunderstood the nature of the
+disease. Other shocks succeeded, and the consequence
+was a violent attack of dropsy, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>
+symptoms of which had first shown themselves
+in Gneixendorf.</p>
+
+<p>His long, painfully long end was now beginning.
+His constitution, powerful as that of
+a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
+nearly three months. As labor of any kind
+was out of the question, the arrival of Handel’s
+works from London, which came to him
+as a present, supplied him with the distraction
+he wished for, in his own sphere. It
+was not long before attacks of suffocation at
+night distressed him and it became necessary
+to perform the operation paracentesis. When
+he saw the stream of water gush forth, he remarked,
+with that sublimity of humor so peculiarly
+his own, that the surgeon reminded
+him of Moses, who struck the rock with his
+rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he added:
+“Better water from the stomach than from the
+pen.” With this he consoled himself. But
+he grew worse, and a medical consultation
+seemed necessary to his friends. His own
+heart forebode him no good, and he again
+made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827.
+He made his beloved nephew “sole heir to all
+he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>
+his regiment the day before, and this had a
+good and quieting effect on Beethoven. He
+knew that the young man would be best provided
+for there, and testified his gratitude to
+General von Stutterheim, who had received
+him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet
+in C sharp minor—his “greatest” quartet.
+He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be called.
+But he had had a falling out years before with
+him, and the celebrated physician did not now
+want to excite the displeasure of his colleagues.
+Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly
+when I told him the doctor’s decision.”</p>
+
+<p>But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had
+exchanged a few words, the old friends lay
+weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor
+prescribed iced punch to “quicken the organs
+of digestion, enervated by too much medicine.”
+The first physician who was called to
+attend him tells us: “The effect of the prescription
+was soon perceptible. He grew cheerful,
+was full of witty sallies at times, and even
+dreamt that he might be able to finish his oratorio
+<i>Saul and David</i>.” From his written
+conversations, we see that a great many of his
+friends had gathered about his bed. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>
+thought of finishing the Bach overture for one
+of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to
+busy himself with the Tenth Symphony once
+more. He had again to experience the feeling
+of pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition—an
+embarrassment now more painful
+than ever—brought about more especially by
+the necessity of procuring a military outfit for
+Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed, expressly promised
+a short time before to send him money,
+but he proved a “princely boaster;” and there
+was no prospect of an income from any other
+source. All his completed works had been
+sold, and the little fortune he had laid aside
+at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
+irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.</p>
+
+<p>His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous”
+English, who had already promised
+him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time.
+The third operation had been performed. His
+long-continued solitude had alienated men
+from him in Vienna; and, especially after his
+experiences with the <i>Akademie</i> in 1824, he
+had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
+for art of his second home. This
+induced Schindler to write to England: “But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>
+what afflicts him very much is, that no one
+here concerns himself in the least about him;
+and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
+him is very surprising.” After this, we find
+only his most intimate friends at his bedside.
+Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened
+to be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes:
+“Thou must bless my boy as Voltaire blessed
+Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling
+and giving concerts, also saw him, and at
+the sight of his suffering—he had just undergone
+the fourth operation—burst into tears.
+Beethoven had, at the moment of Hummel’s
+visit, received a little picture as a present, and
+he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear
+Hummel, the house in which Haydn was
+born—the miserable peasant hut, in which so
+great a man was born!”</p>
+
+<p>He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who
+had purchased his Mass and his Ninth Symphony,
+and who was destined one day to become
+the owner of the <i>Niebelungen</i>, for some
+old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti recommended
+an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it
+seemed to him, would surely save him. But
+it had the very opposite effect, and he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>
+soon taken with violent pains. He wrote to
+London: “I only ask God that I may be preserved
+from want as long as I must here endure
+a living death.” The response was one
+thousand guldens from the Philharmonic Society
+of that city “on account of the concert
+in preparation.” “It was heart-rending to
+see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
+in tears of joy and gratitude” when he
+received them. This was his last joy, and the
+excitement it caused accelerated his end. His
+wound broke open again and did not close any
+more. He felt this at first a wonderful relief,
+and while he felt so he dictated some letters
+for London, which are among the most beautiful
+he has written. He promised to finish
+the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had
+other “gigantic” plans, especially as regards
+his Faust music. “That will be something
+worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The
+overflow of his fancy was “indescribable, and
+his imagination showed an elasticity which
+his friends had noticed but seldom when he
+was in health.” At the same time, the most
+beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated
+before his mind, and in conversation he always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>
+represented his own works as filled with such
+“poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
+“indescribably great. His dissolution was
+approaching” with giant steps, and even his
+friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
+wrote to London on the 24th March: “He
+feels that his end is near, for yesterday he said
+to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands,
+friends; the play is over.’” And further:
+“He advances towards death with really Socratic
+wisdom and unexampled equanimity.”
+He could well be calm of heart and soul. He
+had done his duty as an artist and as a man.
+This same day he wrote a codicil to his will
+in favor of his nephew; and now his friends
+had only one deep concern—to reconcile him
+with heaven. The physician approved, and
+Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
+“I will.”</p>
+
+<p>The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly
+performed his last religious duties.
+Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him
+say, after he had received the sacrament:
+“Reverend sir, I thank you. You have
+brought me consolation.”</p>
+
+<p>He then reminded Schindler of the letter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>
+to London, “May God bless them,” he said.
+The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad!
+too bad! it’s too late!” These were his very
+last words. He fell immediately after into
+such an agony that he was not able to utter a
+single syllable more. On the 24th and 25th
+of March, the people came in crowds to see
+him again. Even the <i>faijaks</i>, Hoslinger and
+Holz, as well as the poet Castelli, were among
+them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,”
+said Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur,
+who, in relating the incident, added that when
+Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he
+covered his face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’
+he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his hand,
+but never saw him again.’” This was the last
+act of his life.</p>
+
+<p>“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock,
+which he had received as a present from
+Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as
+it still does when a storm is approaching.
+Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
+churchyard, to select a grave for him. A
+storm of loud thunder and hail came raging
+on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van
+Beethoven and the young composer, Anselm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>
+Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither from
+Graz to look upon his revered master once
+more, were present in the room of the dying
+man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it
+with a lurid flash. The moribund opened his
+eyes, raised his right hand, and looked up with
+a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of
+the hero would not out. But when his uplifted
+hand fell back on the bed, his eyes half
+closed. Not another breath! Not another
+heart-beat! It was I that closed the half-open
+eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
+an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment.
+This was the 28th of March, 1827.</p>
+
+<p>“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter,
+wept at his grave, but a world wept at it.”
+These are the words of the orator of the day
+on the occasion of the unveiling of the first
+monument to Beethoven in 1845, in Bonn.
+But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring
+was a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty
+thousand human beings surged over the street
+where now the votive church stands; for in
+the <i>Schwarzspanierhaus</i> behind it, Beethoven
+had lived during the last years of his life.
+The leading <i>capellmeisters</i> of the city carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>
+the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.</p>
+
+<p>“The news of his death had violently shaken
+the people out of their indifference,” says Dr.
+G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
+poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the
+funeral procession, “the general of musicians”
+whom men were carrying to the grave! The
+poet, Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration.
+He took for his text the words: “He was an
+artist, and he was what he was only through
+his art.” Our very being and our sublimest
+feelings are touched when we hear the name
+of</p>
+
+<p class="center">LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph1">FOOTNOTE:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a></p>
+
+<p>To part from thee, my dear, this day,<br>
+And know that I can’t with thee stay,<br>
+Is more than my sad heart can bear.</p>
+
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph3">TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">COMPRISING</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<p><span class="large"><b>MEMORIES;</b></span> A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> MAX MÜLLER.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>GRAZIELLA;</b></span> A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. DE LAMARTINE.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>MARIE;</b></span> A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> ALEX. PUSHKIN.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>MADELEINE;</b></span> A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> JULES SANDEAU.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>In neat box, per set</i>,       <span class="gap2">      <i>Price, $3.00.</i></span><br>
+<i>Sold separately, per volume</i>,  <span class="gap">    <i>Price, $1.25.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>Of “Memories” the London <i>Academy</i> says: “It is a prose poem.
+* * * It is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any
+work, however small, that does not bear some marks of its special bent,
+and the traces of research and philosophy In this little story are apparent,
+while its beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided
+mind, to which we already owe large debts of gratitude.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Graziella” the Chicago <i>Tribune</i> says: “It glows with love of the
+beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a
+perfect story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm
+and flow, the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform
+with ‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the
+shelves of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong
+words. ‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Marie” the Cincinnati <i>Gazette</i> says: “This is a Russian love tale,
+written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little narratives
+that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic, and a Russian
+classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so distinctively Russian.
+We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and meet, face to face, the high-souled,
+simple-minded Russian.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Madeleine” the New York <i>Evening Telegram</i> says: “More than
+thirty years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French
+Academy and has since almost become a French classic. It abounds
+both in pathos and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love
+of the most exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so
+sweet, so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
+public.”</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every schoolboy.</i>”—<i>Saturday
+Review, London.</i></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">Tales of Ancient Greece.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By the REV. SIR G. W. COX, Bart., M.A.</span>,<br>
+Trinity College, Oxford.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>12mo., extra cloth, black and gilt</i>, <span class="gap">      <i>Price, $1.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of
+manner which will recommend it to all.”—<i>The Examiner, London.</i></p>
+
+<p>“It is only when we take up such a book as this, that we realize how
+rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”—<i>Inquirer, Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
+versions might well find a place in every family.”—<i>The Nation, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely
+peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”—<i>Standard, Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p>“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among
+those English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable
+rank in the investigation of Greek history.”—<i>Edinburgh Review.</i></p>
+
+<p>“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin, and yet
+fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for the first time,
+were ever before presented in so chaste and popular form.”—<i>Golden Rule,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
+makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales, or the
+‘Arabian Nights.’ * * * We do not know of a Christmas book which
+promises more lasting pleasures.”—<i>Publishers’ Weekly.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its contents
+are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated intelligence. * * *
+The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome addition to a
+department of literature that is thus far quite too scantily furnished.”—<i>Tribune,
+Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="ph3">SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.<br>
+
+AUTHOR OF “SIX LITTLE COOKS,” “DORA’S HOUSEKEEPING,” ETC.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>12 mo., extra cloth, black and gilt</i>, <span class="gap">     <i>Price $1.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times
+to the foundation of the existing Republic.”—<i>Cincinnati Gazette.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little history may
+be commended as the best of its kind that has yet appeared.”—<i>Bulletin,
+Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium
+of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”—<i>Christian
+Union, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to conscientiously
+give it our heartiest commendation. We know no elementary
+history of France that can at all be compared with it.”—<i>Living Church.</i></p>
+
+<p>“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and nation—one
+that will seize and hold the attention of all bright boys and girls
+who have a chance to read it.”—<i>Sunday Afternoon, Springfield</i>, (<i>Mass.</i>)</p>
+
+<p>“We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple
+and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion. The
+book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious study.”—<i>Courant,
+Hartford, Ct.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Miss Kirkland has composed her ‘Short History of France’ in the
+way in which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she
+has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
+reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of
+events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the
+characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods.”—<i>The
+Nation, N. Y.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>Unequalled by anything of the kind with which we are acquainted.</i>”—<i>Christian
+Advocate, N. Y.</i></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">CUMNOCK’S CHOICE READINGS.</p>
+
+<p class="center">FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. ARRANGED FOR THE<br>
+EXERCISES OF THE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND PUBLIC READER,<br>
+WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE. EDITED BY ROBERT<br>
+MC’LAIN CUMNOCK, A. M., PROFESSOR OF<br>
+RHETORIC AND ELOCUTION, NORTHWESTERN<br>
+UNIVERSITY.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Large 12mo., cloth</i>,  <span class="gap">    <i>Price, $1.75.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“It ought to become a special favorite among school and college
+students and public readers.”—<i>Evening Post, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Taking into account the admirable type, the excellent taste, the
+brevity of the rhetorical counsels, the unsurpassed variety, we prefer
+Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”—<i>Christian Register,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during
+the past ten years, we know of none so complete in all respects and so
+well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before us.”—<i>Transcript,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“No choicer casket of prose and poetry has been given to us by any
+other author. These are the culled flowers from the bouquet of literature.
+They are of every nature known to the language, and each is of
+the best of its kind.”—<i>The Post, San Francisco.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
+the English language are here assembled for the uses of the student of
+elocution. * * * The collection is valuable as a treasury of
+literary gems, apart from its worth as a manual of declamation.”—<i>Tribune,
+Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The volume consists in great measure of fresh specimens that
+have recently found their way into current literature, and present the
+charm of novelty with the merit of good writing. The ancient stream is
+thus enriched with supplies from new fountains, and living productions
+take the place of the veteran pieces which have grown old in the course
+of protracted service. * * * They are illustrations of the best
+literature of the day.”—<i>Tribune, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>Dr. Gibson is a champion of more than ordinary skill.</i>”—Gazette,
+Cincinnati.</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">The Foundations</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">OF</p>
+
+<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">Christianity</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Rev.</span> J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,<br>
+Author of “<span class="smcap">Ages Before Moses</span>.”</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Square 16 mo.</i>, <span class="gap">     <i>Price, $1.00.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“Admirable because of its brevity and directness, and because it answers,
+without any theological circumlocution, the objections which
+modern infidelity puts forth so pertinaciously.”—<i>Inquirer, Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The book, both in manner and matter, will be found to be just the
+thing which many thoughtful yet perplexed persons need to direct their
+inquiries and resolve their doubts. The style is fresh, vigorous and incisive.”—<i>Canada
+Presbyterian, Toronto.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who thinks
+at all on these noble themes, and we are sure that its effect will be
+wholesome and powerful in removing difficulties, strengthening defenses,
+and establishing the spirit upon sure foundations.”—<i>Observer,
+New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Dr. Gibson’s book, though so condensed, is admirable in method, and
+vigorous and fresh in style, throughout. As a brief and popular presentation
+of the fundamental truths, such as are apt to expand beyond ordinary
+ability to read in most hands, nothing more valuable has recently
+emanated from the press.”—<i>Rev. Dr. H. M. Field, in the Evangelist.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The treatment is masterly. The author grapples the points essential
+to the argument with courage and vigor, and in a style notable for its
+trenchant force, sets them forth in convincing light. While others meet
+the infidel argument more on the skirmish line, Christian people will
+be glad to see one like Dr. Gibson bearing down upon the very centre of
+the enemy’s position.”—<i>Rev. Dr. J. A. Smith, in the Standard.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>An exceedingly interesting narrative of an extraordinary life.</i>”—The
+Standard.</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">LIFE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD:</p>
+
+<p class="ph1"><span class="smcap">His Patriotism and his Treason</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Hon.</span> I. N. ARNOLD,<br>
+AUTHOR OF “LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Crown, 8vo., with Portrait</i>,<span class="gap">      <i>Price, $2.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p>This Life of Arnold is full of new facts, now first given to the public.
+Manuscripts from the family of Arnold, in England and in Canada, and
+the Shippen manuscripts, have enabled the author to make new contributions
+to Revolutionary history of great interest. The unpublished
+manuscripts of General Schuyler, to which the author has had access,
+has thrown new light upon the expedition to Canada and the campaign
+against Burgoyne. The author does not, to any extent, excuse Arnold’s
+treason, but aims to do full justice to him as a soldier and patriot. For
+Arnold, the traitor, he has no plea but “guilty;” for Arnold, the soldier
+and patriot, he asks a hearing and justice.</p>
+
+<p>“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
+baseness; and while exhibiting the former and the splendid services by
+which it was illustrated, with generous earnestness, does not in any degree
+extenuate the turpitude of the other.”—<i>Harper’s Monthly.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is thrown
+on the prominent actors and events of history. * * * Bancroft erroneously
+asserts that Arnold was not present at the first battle of Saratoga.
+Upon this point the author has justice and right on his side, and to
+Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive campaign seems
+greatly attributable.”—<i>New England Historical and Genealogical Register.</i></p>
+
+<p>“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold has
+accomplished his task wonderfully well. * * * It is rarely that one
+meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
+the devoted wife of Benedict Arnold; she mourned his fallen greatness,
+but even in his ignominity was faithful to the vows by which she had
+sworn to love and care for him until death.”—<i>Traveller, Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote">
+<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p>
+
+<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p>
+
+<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 69693 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life of Beethoven, by Louis Nohl
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: Life of Beethoven
+       Biographies of musicians
+
+Author: Louis Nohl
+
+Translator: John J. Lalor
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2023 [eBook #69693]
+
+Language: English
+
+Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed
+             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+             produced from images generously made available by The
+             Internet Archive)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN ***
+
+
+[Illustration: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.]
+
+
+
+
+  _BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS._
+
+
+  LIFE OF BEETHOVEN
+
+  BY
+  LOUIS NOHL
+
+  TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
+  BY
+  JOHN J. LALOR.
+
+  “_Our age has need of vigorous minds._”
+
+  CHICAGO:
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
+  1881.
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT.
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & COMPANY.
+  A. D. 1880.
+
+  STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED
+  BY
+  THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Music is the most popular of the arts. It fills man’s breast with
+a melancholy joy. Even the brute creation is not insensible to its
+power. Yet, at its best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
+without reason are training, practice, talent, and the development
+of that talent, required for the understanding of her secrets. “One
+wishes to be heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion becomes
+only women, but music should strike fire from the mind of a man.” In
+some such strain as this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
+how slowly the works of the great symphonist found a hearing and
+recognition from the general public.
+
+Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the name of Beethoven?
+Who is there that, hearing one of his compositions, does not feel
+the presence of a sublime, all-ruling power--of a power that springs
+from the deepest sources of all life? His very name inspires us with
+a feeling of veneration, and we can readily believe the accounts that
+have come down to us; how even strangers drew back with a species of
+awe, before this man of imposing appearance, spite of his smallness
+of stature, with his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
+piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two charcoal-burners who
+suddenly stopped their heavily laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow
+pass, this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all Vienna, and who was
+wont to stand and think, and then, humming, to go his way, moving about
+bee-like through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book in his
+hand.
+
+We are moved with the same feeling of respect that moved those common
+men, when we hear only Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
+are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel in that music the
+presence of the spirit that animates and sustains the world, and which
+is continually calling new life into existence. Even the person who
+is not a musician himself may feel, in these mighty productions, the
+certainty of the presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
+sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of hearts, the joys and
+sorrows of which Beethoven has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when
+we hear them, that the person who in them speaks to us has, in very
+deed, something to tell us, something of our own life; because he lived
+and felt more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and loved and
+suffered what we all love and suffer, more deeply than any other child
+of dust. In Beethoven, we meet with a personage really great, both
+in mind and heart, one who was able to become a sublime model to us,
+because life and art were serious things with him, and one who made it
+his duty “to live not for himself, but for other men.” The high degree
+of self-denying power found in this phenomenon of art, it is that has
+such an elevating effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks of the
+artist he discharged with equal fidelity. His life was the foundation
+on which the superstructure of his works rose. His greatness as a man
+was the source of his greatness as an artist. The mere story of his
+life, given here in outline, reveals to us the internal springs of his
+artistic creations, and we must perforce admit, that the history of
+Beethoven’s life is a part of the history of the higher intellectual
+life of our time and of humanity.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
+
+  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
+    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
+    Public at the Age of Seven--Errors as to His Age--Travels in
+    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
+    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
+    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
+    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First
+    Love--Beethoven and Hayden--Compositions written in Vienna      9-39
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
+
+  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
+    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s
+    First Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to
+    Remove to the North--New Compositions--His
+    Improvisations--Disappointments in North
+    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in
+    Austria--Neglects His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the
+    Eroica--Napoleon I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His
+    Deafness Again--Thoughts of Marriage--The Guicciardi
+    Family--Meaning of His Music--His “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning
+    of the Eroica and Fidelio--The Leonore Overture--Other
+    Compositions                                                   40-81
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.--THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,
+  SYMPHONIES.
+
+  The Pastorale--Meaning of the Apassionata--Beethoven’s Letter
+    to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own Opinion of the
+    Apassionata--Thinks of Writing Operas--Court Composer--Overture
+    to Coriolanus--The Mass in C, op. 86--His Sacred Music--The
+    Fidelio In Prague--Music for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral
+    Code”--Character of His Works about this Period--Intercourse
+    with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op. 69--Improvement in
+    His pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna fears to
+    lose Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh
+    Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to Bettina--His
+    Estimate of Genius                                            82-121
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
+
+  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
+    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Wellington’s Victory--Strange
+    Conduct--Intellectual Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The
+    Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object
+    of Universal Attention--Presents from Kings--The
+    Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--Romulus and the Oratorio--His
+    “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Opinion of the English
+    People--His Missa Solemnis--His Own Opinion of it--Its
+    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony              122-162
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  THE LAST QUARTETS
+
+  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The
+    Great Concert of May, 1821--Preparation for It--Small
+    Returns--Beethoven Appreciated--The Quartets--An “Oratorio
+    for Boston”--Overture on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal
+    Experience on His Works--His Brother Johann--Presentiment of
+    Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
+    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man Debility--Calls for Dr.
+    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a
+    Clergyman--His Death                                         163-201
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+1770-1794
+
+BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.
+
+  Birth and Baptism--His Family--Young Beethoven’s Character--His
+    Brothers Karl and Johann--Early Talent for Music--Appears in
+    Public at the Age of Seven--Error as to His Age--Travels in
+    Holland--Studies the Organ in Vienna--His Fame Foretold--His
+    Personal Appearance--Meets Mozart--Mozart’s Opinion of
+    Him--Maximilian, Elector of Cologne, and Mozart--Beethoven’s
+    Intellectual Training--Madame von Breuning--First Love--Beethoven
+    and Haydn--Compositions written in Vienna.
+
+
+Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn on the 17th of December,
+1770. We know only this the date of his baptism, with any certainty,
+and hence the 17th of December is assumed to be his birthday likewise.
+
+His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a singer in the chapel of the
+Elector, in Bonn. The family, however, had come originally from the
+Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather came to Bonn in 1732 after
+willfully leaving the parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
+had attracted attention as a bass singer in the church and the theater,
+and was made director of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
+had founded a family, was earning a respectable livelihood, and had
+won for himself the personal regard of the community. He did, besides,
+a small business in wines, but this, which was only accessory to his
+calling as a musician, contributed to undermine both his own happiness
+and his son’s. His wife, Josepha Poll, fell a victim to the vice of
+intemperance, and, in consequence, it at last became necessary to
+confine her in a convent in Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
+son inherited the vice of his mother.
+
+“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting of wine from a very
+early age,” says the account of his playmates. It was not long before
+this weakness got the upper hand to such an extent that his family
+and home suffered greatly. It finally led to his discharge from his
+position. Stephan van Breuning, our own Beethoven’s friend in youth,
+saw him, on one occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the hands
+of the police in the public streets.
+
+We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s youth, which put the
+strength of his mind as well as the goodness of his heart to the test.
+For in consequence of the very respectable position occupied by his
+grandfather, of his own early appointment as court organist, and of the
+rapid development of his talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
+the higher classes, and was employed in the capacity of musician in
+the families of the nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
+it happened that he and his two younger brothers were obliged to take
+their intoxicated father home, they always performed that disagreeable
+task with the utmost tenderness. He was never known to utter a hard or
+unkind word about the man who had made his youth so sunless, and he
+never failed to resent it when a third person spoke uncharitably of his
+father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain haughtiness, however, which
+marked his disposition as a youth and a man, are traceable to these
+early harsh experiences.
+
+And who knows the complications which caused misfortune to get the
+upper hand here! True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven was of a
+volatile and flighty disposition;” but even his playmates, when he was
+a boy, had nothing bad to say of his character. Anger and stubbornness
+seem, indeed, to have been the inheritance of his Netherland nature;
+and these our hero also displayed to no small extent. But while the
+grandfather had earned a very good position for himself, and always so
+deported himself that young Beethoven might take him as an example, and
+loved to speak of him as a “man of honor,” his father was never more
+than a singer in the chapel, on a small salary. But, notwithstanding
+his comparatively humble social position, he had made a mistake in
+marrying below his station.
+
+Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to
+wife, in 1763. She is described as a “pretty and slender woman.” She
+had served as a chambermaid, for a time, in some of the families of the
+great, had married young, and was left a widow at the age of nineteen.
+Johann’s marriage to this woman was not acceptable to the court
+_capellmeister_, and so it happened that he was obliged to leave the
+home in which he had thus far lived with his lonely father, and move
+into a wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn street, where his son
+Ludwig, the subject of this sketch, was born.
+
+The young wife brought no property to her husband. Several children
+were born to the newly married couple in quick succession. Of these,
+Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766, play some part in Beethoven’s
+life. The growth of the family was so rapid that it was not long
+before they felt the burthen of pecuniary distress. The grandfather,
+who was well to do, helped them, at first. His stately figure in his
+red coat, with his massive head and “big eyes,” remained fixed in the
+boy Ludwig’s memory, although he was only three years of age when his
+grandfather died. The child was, indeed, tenderly attached to him.
+As the father’s poverty increased, he made some efforts to improve
+his condition. But they were of no avail; for his deportment was only
+“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.” He now had recourse to
+teaching, and obtained employment in the theater, for he played the
+violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up what was left of his little
+fortune. Their furniture and table ware followed their silver-service
+and linen--“which one might have drawn through a ring,”--to the
+pawn-shop; and now the father’s poverty contributed only to make him,
+more and more, the victim of his weakness for the cup.
+
+But there was even now one star of hope in the dreary firmament of
+his existence--his son Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
+itself in very early childhood, and could not, by any possibility,
+escape the observation of the father, who, after all, was himself a
+“good musician.” And, although the father was not destined to live
+to see his son in the zenith of his success, it was his son’s talent
+alone that saved the family from ruin and their name from oblivion,
+for with the birth of Beethoven’s younger brother, Johann, and of a
+sister who died shortly after, the circumstances of the family became
+still more straightened. Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
+and it occurred to the father to train his son to be a second little
+Mozart, and, by traveling with him, earn the means of subsistence of
+which the family stood so sorely in need. And so the boy was rigidly
+kept to his lessons on the piano and violin. His daily exercises on
+these instruments must have been a severer task on him than would seem
+to be necessary in a regular course of musical training. He used to be
+taken from his playing with other children to practice, and friends of
+his youth tell us how they saw him standing on a stool before the piano
+and cry while he practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called into
+requisition in his education, and the expostulations of friends could
+not dissuade the father from such relentless severity. But the end was
+attained. Regular and persevering exercise, laid the foundation of a
+skill in the art of music, which led him before the public when only
+seven years of age. On the 26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
+day of the month on which Beethoven died), the father announced, in a
+paper published in Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would have
+the honor to wait on the public with several concertos for the piano,
+when, he flattered himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
+audience a rich treat; and this all the more since he had been favored
+with a hearing by the whole court, who listened to him with the
+greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance the surprise, was made one
+year younger in this announcement than he was in reality; and this
+led Beethoven himself into an error as to his age, which he did not
+discover until he was nearly forty.
+
+We need say but little concerning his other teachers when a youth.
+His great school was want, which urged him to follow and practice his
+art, so that he might master it, and, with its assistance, make his
+way through the world. When Beethoven grew to be eight years of age,
+he had as a teacher, in addition to his father, the vocalist Tobias
+Pfeiffer, for a whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven family. He
+was a skillful pianist. Beethoven considered him one of the teachers
+to whom he was most indebted, and was subsequently instrumental in
+procuring assistance for him from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
+the nature of his instruction, and of the mode of living in the family,
+from the fact, attested by Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently
+happened that Pfeiffer, after coming home with the father late in the
+night from the tavern, took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him at
+the piano practicing till morning. Yet the success attendant on this
+instruction was such, even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and his
+teacher, who performed on the flute, played variations together, the
+people in the streets stopped and listened to their delightful music.
+In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he traveled to Holland with his
+mother, played in the houses of the great, and astonished every one by
+his skill. The profits from this journey, however, cannot have been
+very large. When the boy was questioned about them, he replied: “The
+Dutch are a niggardly set; I shall never visit Holland again.”
+
+In the meantime, he turned his attention also to the study of the
+organ. Under the guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
+neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon became so proficient on that
+instrument, that he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
+service. But his principal teachers here were the old electoral court
+organist, van den Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
+Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition the latter was the first
+to exercise any real influence on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
+years, thanked him for the good advice he had given him--advice
+which had contributed so much to his success in the “divine art.” He
+concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If I should turn out some
+day to be a great man, you will have contributed to making me such.”
+Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an organist, he had all the
+characteristics of the North German artists; but, on the other hand,
+he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style introduced
+by Ph. E. Bach. He was a man of broad general education, and the form
+of his artistic productions was almost faultless. Such was young
+Beethoven’s proficiency at the age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was
+able to appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave the way for
+his appointment as court organist. We owe to him the first published
+account of Beethoven, and from that account we learn that the great
+foundation of his instruction was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,”
+that _ne plus ultra_ of counterpoint and technic. He first made a
+reputation in Vienna by his masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
+instruction he had received in composition, bore fruit also, and some
+variations to a march and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this time
+in print.
+
+In the account of Beethoven referred to above, and which was written
+in 1783, Neefe said that that young “genius” was deserving of support
+that he might be able to travel, and that he would certainly be another
+Mozart. But the development of his genius soon took a wider scope. He
+even, on one occasion, when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
+a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the best pieces of the age
+were produced. This was at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
+his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily greater. We are
+told that when he became court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
+made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the key entirely during
+the performance of divine service, by his own bold modulations. True,
+the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius” in the future, but he, no
+less than his _capellmeister_ Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
+extraordinary capacity of the young man.
+
+Incidents of this kind may have suggested the propriety of giving him
+the instruction appropriate for a really great master of art; and,
+indeed, we find the court organist of Bonn with Mozart in Vienna, in
+the spring of 1787.
+
+Beethoven’s appearance was not what would be called imposing. He
+was small of stature, muscular and awkward, with a short snub nose.
+When he was introduced to Mozart, the latter was rather cool in his
+praise of his musical performances, considering them pieces learned by
+heart simply for purposes of parade. Beethoven, thereupon requested
+Mozart to give him a subject, that he might try his powers of musical
+improvisation. Charmed with the ability displayed in the execution of
+the task thus imposed on his young visitor, Mozart exclaimed: “Mark
+that young man! the world will hear of him some day.” Beethoven,
+however, received very little instruction from Mozart, who was so
+deeply engaged, just at this time, with the composition of his _Don
+Giovanni_, and so sorely tried by adverse circumstances, that he played
+very little for him, and could give him only a few lessons. Besides,
+Beethoven’s mother was now taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks
+he had to return home, where other blows of a hard fate awaited him.
+His kind, good mother, was snatched from him by death, and his father’s
+unfortunate weakness for strong drink obtained such a mastery over
+him that he was deprived of his position shortly after. The duty of
+supporting his two younger brothers was thus imposed on Ludwig, the
+eldest.
+
+Young Beethoven was thus taught many a severe lesson early in life, in
+the hard school of adversity. But his trials were not without advantage
+to him. They gave to his character that iron texture which upheld him
+under the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to Bonn a misfortune.
+He there found the very advantages which he had gone to seek in the
+musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian Francis, Elector of Cologne,
+the friend and patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes of the
+preceding century, who made their courts the sanctuary of culture and
+of art.
+
+Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria Theresa. He had received the
+careful training, for which that imperial house was noted, and he found
+in Joseph II an example in every way worthy of imitation. He was as
+faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to his duties as a ruler,
+and as adverse to what he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
+Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors, who had left
+the country in a state of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
+endeavored to bring order out of chaos and to spread prosperity among
+his people. A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court as long as
+he presided in it. He was still young, not much over thirty, and a man
+of the truest principles. Speaking of him as “that most humane and best
+of princes,” a contemporary writer says: “People had grown accustomed
+to think of Cologne as a land of darkness, but when they came to the
+Elector’s court, they quickly changed their mind.” The members of the
+orchestra of the court especially, among whom our young court organist
+is to be reckoned, were, we are told, very intelligent, right thinking
+men, of elegant manners and unexceptionable conduct.
+
+The Elector had opened the University in 1776, and established a
+public reading-room, which he visited with no more ostentation than
+any one else. “All these institutions, as I looked upon it, had sworn
+allegiance to an unknown genius of humanity, and, for the first time in
+my life, my mind had a glimmer of the meaning and majesty of science,”
+writes the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could Beethoven have
+thought differently? He had, it is true, devoted himself so exclusively
+to music that he had made very little progress in anything else. In
+the use of figures he always found great difficulty, and his spelling
+was worse than could be easily tolerated even in his own day, when
+orthography was a rather rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
+French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher intellectual culture
+which, at this time, swept through Bonn and influenced him likewise
+through his intimate intercourse with the most highly cultivated people
+of the city, soon lifted him to heights unattained by other artists and
+musicians of his century--heights from which he continually discerned
+new fields of action. As a consequence of this intercourse with the
+learned, he acquired intellectual tastes in various directions, and so
+seriously occupied himself with things intellectual that they became a
+necessity to his nature. He tells us himself that, without laying the
+least claim to real learning, it had been his endeavor from childhood
+to acquaint himself with what was best and wisest in every age. But
+these intellectual leanings did not prevent him from being, as the
+painter Kuegelgen said of himself, lovingly devoted to his art. And his
+own beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated in Bonn
+with a greater earnestness and devotion than any other.
+
+The writer referred to above, speaking of the Elector, says: “Not only
+did he play himself, but he was an enthusiastic lover of music. It
+seemed as if he could never tire of hearing it. Whenever he went to
+a concert, he was the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
+And no wonder; for the musical instruction given to the children of
+Maria Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music in Vienna was
+at that time at its height. That city was the scene of the labors of
+Gluck, Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only good music to be heard
+in the “cabinet” at Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished pianist,
+contributed his share to this; and we need not be surprised to find him
+employed by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.
+
+But it was not musicians alone who were benefited by prince’s
+patronage. No sooner did the condition of the country leave him
+the necessary leisure, and the state of its finances afford him the
+necessary means, than he turned his best attention to the theater and
+the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian Francis had organized
+an orchestra, and our young court organist took a place in it as
+a player of the tenor violin. The violinist, Ries, and Simrock, a
+performer on the French horn, were also members of it. Ries and Simrock
+had henceforth much to do with Mozart. The following year, a troupe
+visited Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles, as well
+as Gluck’s _Alceste and Orpheus_. They were followed by Grossmann,
+a person of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished place
+in the history of German dramatic art. His repertory included the
+plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and Goethe, with all of whom
+Beethoven thus became acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
+Francis established a national theater, and, dating from this, dramatic
+poetry and music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it took its place,
+in this respect, side by side with Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and
+became a school well calculated to foster the great abilities of
+Beethoven. In the orchestra we find such men as Andreas, Bernhard
+Romberg and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as a writer on
+the theory of music. The latter was, at this time, Beethoven’s most
+intimate friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come upon the
+stage, many of whom subsequently filled all Germany with their fame.
+Dramatic works of every description appeared. There was Martin’s _Tree
+of Diana_, Mozart’s _Elopement from the Seraglio_, Salieri’s _Grotto
+of Trophonius_, Dittersdorf’s _Doctor and Apothecary_, and _Little Red
+Riding Hood_, Gluck’s _Pilgrim of Mecca_, besides Paisiello’s _King
+Theodore_, and greatest of all, _Don Giovanni_. The music “pleased
+connoisseurs;” and _Figaro’s Marriage_ greatly charmed both singers and
+the members of the orchestra, who vied with one another to do justice
+to that beautiful opera. “The strength of our theater,” says a writer
+of the time, characteristically and simply, “lay in our opera.”
+
+This continual contemplation of “characters in tone” played a decided
+part in the development of an artist who was destined to infuse into
+instrumental music so much of poetical and even of dramatic life.
+We are informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating character in
+the language of music was so great, even at this time, that when
+improvising, which he was very fond of doing, he was frequently
+asked “to describe the character of some well-known person.” One
+distinguishing peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a marked
+influence in the development of the great symphonist of the future,
+Beethoven. We refer to what has been called “the accurate observation
+of musical light and shade, or of the _forte_ and _piano_.” This
+musical peculiarity was introduced into the Bonn orchestra by a former
+_capellmeister_, Mattioli, “a man full of fire and refined feeling,”
+who had learned orchestral accentuation and declamation from Gluck,
+and whose musical enthusiasm caused him to be considered the superior
+of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such a part in Mozart’s life, and
+who had originated this mode of musical delivery in Germany. He was
+succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under whose energetic leadership the Bonn
+orchestra reached its highest point of perfection. In the autumn of
+1791, we find that entire orchestra in Mergentheim, the seat of the
+German order of which Maximilian Francis was Grand Master; and we have
+an account of it from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear idea of
+Beethoven’s life as a student.
+
+Our informant tells us, in the first place, that he was very much
+impressed by an octet of wind instruments. All eight players were, he
+says, masters who had reached a high degree of truth and perfection,
+especially in the sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one of
+Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How Ries infused life and spirit
+into all by his sure and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What once
+could be heard only in Mannheim, we are told, was now heard here--the
+close observance of the _piano_ and the _forte_ and the _rinforzando_,
+the swell and gradual growth of tone, followed by the dropping of the
+same from the utmost intensity to the merest breath. Bernhard Romberg’s
+playing is lauded for “perfection of expression and its fine shades of
+feeling which appeal to the heart;” his cousin Andreas’s for “taste in
+delivery,” and the true art of his “musical painting.” Can we wonder
+that Beethoven’s emulation of, and struggling for the mastery with
+such men contributed constantly to develop his genius? He is praised
+for the peculiar expression of his playing, and above all for the
+speaking, significant, expressive character of his fancy. Our informant
+says, in closing his account: “I found him wanting in nothing which
+goes to make the great artist. All the superior performers of this
+orchestra are his admirers. They are all ears when he plays, but the
+man himself is exceedingly modest and without pretension of any kind.”
+
+We have now seen what was Beethoven’s technical training both by
+practice and example, on the organ and the piano, in the theater and
+the orchestra, and how all these were to him a school of musical
+composition; for the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with Mozart
+and Haydn as we of to-day are with Beethoven. How thoroughly he
+comprehended and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested by what
+he once said to John Cramer, the only piano player to whom Beethoven
+himself applied terms of high praise. The two were walking, in 1799, in
+the park in Vienna, listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor. “Cramer!
+Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed, when he heard the simple and beautiful
+theme near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish anything
+like that.” “What a modest man!” was the reply. This leads us to say
+something of the few beautiful, purely human gifts which were the fruit
+Beethoven enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.
+
+In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with her four children, who were
+only a little younger than our court organist. Beethoven and one of
+the sons, Stephan, received instruction in music from Ries, and were
+thus thrown together. But it was not long before our young artist
+himself was called upon to teach the piano in the family of Madame von
+Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his good mother had succumbed
+to her many sufferings and sorrows, we learn from the first letter
+of his that has come down to us. We there read: “She was so good and
+amiable a mother to me! She was my best friend. O, who was happier
+than I while I could yet pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
+was once some one to hear me when I said ‘mother!’ But to whom can I
+address that name now? Only to the silent pictures of her which my
+fancy paints.” But Madame von Breuning became a second mother to him;
+and what her home was, we are informed by Doctor Wegeler, afterwards
+husband of Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore, for a time one of
+Beethoven’s pupils. He writes: “Her home was pervaded by an atmosphere
+of unconstrained refinement, spite of an occasional outburst of the
+petulance of youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early to the writing
+of little poems. Stephan did the same thing at a much later date, and
+successfully. The useful and agreeable were found combined in the
+little social entertainments of family friends. It was not long before
+Beethoven was treated as one of the children. He spent the greater part
+of the day in Madame Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the night.
+He felt at home in the family, and everything about him contributed to
+cheer him and to develop his mind.” When it is known, on the authority
+of the same Doctor Wegeler, that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
+that Beethoven first became acquainted with German literature, that
+there he received his first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to
+estimate the value to him of the friendship of the Breuning family--a
+friendship which was never interrupted for a moment during his long
+life.
+
+It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse with the Breuning
+family that he felt the first, charming intimations of the tender
+passion. Wegeler makes mention of two young ladies, one of whom, a
+pretty, cheerful and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of Cologne,
+was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s. She took delight in teasing
+our young musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:
+
+  “Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,
+  Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,
+  Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”[A]
+
+His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections was a captain in the
+Austrian army, by the name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823, in the
+written conversations of our deaf master. He was just as much taken
+with the sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold), but to no purpose.
+He called his love for her a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
+after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes about it. What he
+thought of his acquaintance with the Breuning family and these two
+young persons may be inferred from the words in which he dedicated the
+variations _Se vuol ballare_, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore Breuning)
+in 1793: “May this work,” he says, “serve to recall the time when I
+spent so many and such happy hours in your home.”
+
+Besides the home of the Breunings, in which Beethoven was always
+so welcome, we may mention another--that of Count Waldstein, to
+whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The count was very friendly to
+Beethoven. He was aware of his genius, and, on that account, afforded
+him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to spare the artist’s feelings, this
+assistance was made to have the appearance of coming from the Elector.
+It may be that it was this same amiable and art-loving young Austrian
+who endeavored to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the one place in
+the world in which he could receive the final touch to his musical
+education,--Vienna. The very multitude of Beethoven’s ideas, and
+the height to which his intellect had soared, showed him that he was
+far from having reached perfection in the artistic representation of
+those ideas. His readiness of execution and his wonderful power of
+improvisation, even now, assured him victory wherever he went. But the
+small number of compositions which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is
+sufficient proof that he did not feel sure of himself as a composer.
+And yet he had now reached an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
+composer of operas.
+
+In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to London, passed through Bonn,
+and was presented to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis, in person.
+He returned in the summer of 1792, and as Mozart had died in the
+meantime, nothing was more natural than that Beethoven should apply to
+the greatest living musician for instruction. The Elector assisted him;
+and we may divine how the young musician’s heart must have swelled, now
+that he had entered the real wrestling-place in his art, from what,
+as we stated before, he said to his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become
+a great man,” etc. But what was there that is not expected from such
+a person? Waldstein expressed the “realization of his long contested
+wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s album: “By uninterrupted industry,
+thou wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the hands of Haydn.” When
+the wars of the Revolution swept over the boundaries of France, the
+excitement produced was great and universal. Beethoven was affected
+only by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of the grotesque
+ridiculousness of the _sans culottes_ and the blood of the guillotine.
+After a short journey, in November, 1792, Vienna afforded him a safe
+retreat which he never afterwards left. It was not long before the
+French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian Francis was obliged to
+flee, and thus every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home was lost.
+
+It now became imperative that he should take care of himself. His
+two brothers were provided for--Karl was a musician and Johann an
+apothecary. They soon followed him to Vienna, where it was not long
+before they renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn. But his own
+constant endeavor was to be the creative artist that, as he became
+more firmly convinced every day, he was born to be. His studies
+under Haydn, then under Schenk, with whom the readers of the Life of
+Mozart are familiar from his connection with the opera of the _Magic
+Flute_, afterwards under the dry-as-dust Albrechtsberger, the teacher
+of counterpoint, and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy, Salieri--were
+earnestly and zealously pursued, as is evident from what he has left
+after him. But even now his mind was too richly developed and his
+fancy too lofty to learn anything except by independent action. Ten of
+Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived in Bonn; but, during his
+first sojourn in Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from his pen,
+and we cannot but suppose that the germs of many of these last were
+sown during the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We conclude this
+chapter with a list of the works here referred to.
+
+Besides his first attempts at musical composition already mentioned,
+a concerto for the piano written in 1784, and three quartets for the
+piano written in 1785, which were afterwards made use of in the
+sonatas op. 2, we must add, as certainly dating from this period of
+Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count Waldstein (1791), a trio
+for the piano in E flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
+in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this op. as Goethe’s
+_Mailied_, a part of the Bagatellen op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the
+two preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803, the variations _Vieni
+Amore_ (1790), a funeral cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790),
+and one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of which was submitted
+to Haydn and which he thought a great deal of--both of these latter
+compositions are lost--an allegro and minuet for two flutes, a rondino
+for reed instruments and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in 1796.
+
+In addition to these, there are, in all probability, many other
+compositions which were completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn
+in Vienna, and published at a still later date; the octet op.
+103, after which the quintet op. 4 was patterned before 1797, the
+serenade op. 8, which contained the germ of his nocturne op. 42; the
+Variations op. 66, on _Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen_, from the _Magic
+Flute_ (published in 1798); the variations on _God Save the King_,
+the Romance for the violin, both of which appeared in 1805, when
+Beethoven’s brother secretly published much of his music; the variation
+on _Se vuol ballare_ from Mozart’s _Figaro_; the _Es War Einmal_
+from Dittersdroff’s _Little Red Riding Hood_, the “See He Comes,”
+the Messias, and a theme by Count Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797),
+the _Easy Sonata_ in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von Breuning;
+the prelude in F minor (appeared in 1805), and the sextet for wind
+instruments, op. 71, which appeared in 1810.
+
+In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point to three hundred works
+which he had composed, among them the poetical sonatas of his youth.
+How little of sunshine and leisure must there have been in a life
+which, spite of its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
+reaped so little fruit! And even if we fix the date when the three
+trios op. 1, were composed in this period, when Beethoven was for the
+first time taught the meaning of the world and history, by the stormy
+movements of the last decade of the last century; and admit that the
+two concertos for the piano (op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
+wonderful fantasias with which he charmed the hearts and minds of the
+people of Bonn at that time, yet how little did he achieve! This fact
+is the most convincing proof of the truth of Beethoven’s own assertion,
+that fortune did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving his musical training
+out of consideration, Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
+Seldom was it brightened for any length of time by the smiles of joy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+1795-1806.
+
+THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.
+
+  Music in Vienna--Society in Vienna--Beethoven’s
+    Dedications--Lichnowsky--The Eroica and Fidelio--Beethoven’s First
+    Great Exploits--Plans for Future Work--Decides to Remove to the
+    North--New Compositions--His Improvisations--Disappointment in North
+    Germany--Prince Louis Ferdinand--Makes His Home in Austria--Neglects
+    His Health--His Deafness--Origin of the Eroica--Napoleon
+    I--Bernadotte--The Symphony in C Minor--His Deafness Again--Thoughts
+    of Marriage--The Guicciardi Family--Meaning of His Music--His
+    “Will”--Disappointment--Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio--The
+    Lenore Overture--Other Compositions.
+
+
+The golden age of music in Vienna had not passed away when Beethoven
+came to that city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility, and a great
+many circles of the cultured found in music the very soul of their
+intellectual life and of a nobler existence. A consequence of this was
+that more attention was paid to chamber music than any other; and we
+accordingly find that the greater number of Beethoven’s compositions,
+written at this period, are of that style of music. Their very
+dedications tell us much of the social circles of Vienna, and of the
+persons who graced them.
+
+First of all, we have the three trios op. 1, dedicated to Prince Karl
+von Lichnowsky. The man who had been the pupil and friend of Mozart
+might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute found so soon for that
+departed genius. A quartet consisting of the able artists Schuppanzigh,
+Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler
+informs us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with the Prince, who, at a
+later date, paid him a salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
+on _Seht er Kommt_, (See he comes) 1797, were dedicated to his consort,
+the Princess Christiane, _nee_ Thun. She prized Beethoven very highly,
+and, as he once said of her himself, would have liked to encase him in
+glass, that he might be screened from the defiling breath and touch of
+the unworthy. The first three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
+and they introduce us to his special patron, the Prince Esterhazy, with
+whom Beethoven was not very intimate, although the commission to write
+the mass op. 86 was given by Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
+well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24 (1800), and the string
+quintet op. 29 (1801), are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much in
+Beethoven’s life to show that he was on terms of close friendship with
+this rich “merchant.” The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated to Countess
+Keglevics. The first concerto, which was finished in 1794, is dedicated
+to the same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi. The trios op. 9,
+as well as the brilliant sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
+to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven himself called _le premier
+Mecene de sa muse_, and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort. To
+the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the trio op. 11, composed the same
+year, and the sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers in Vienna.
+
+How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky is evidenced by the dedication
+to him of op. 14, the _Pathetique_ (1799). In it we find the earliest
+expression of Beethoven’s view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
+innermost nature, calling to him to live a higher life. To Lichnowsky,
+likewise, was dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful funeral
+march (1802). The two lovely sonatas op. 14 of the year 1799, as
+well as the sonata for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to the
+Countess Braun, whose husband gave Beethoven, some years after, the
+commission for the _Fidelio_; and the quintet op. 16 which was finished
+in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg. When we connect the name of Prince
+Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed in 1797-1800; that
+of Baron von Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord with the
+first symphony op. 21 (1800), that of the learned von Sonnenfels with
+the so-called pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see the force of
+the remark made by J. F. Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
+period loved and appreciated music better probably than any other in
+the history of the world. That they did not continue to do so is due
+entirely to the fact of the general disturbance of their pecuniary
+circumstances consequent on the wars which came to an end only in 1815,
+and which diminished their favorable influence on the cultivation of
+the art of music. But our artist had all the advantages of this noble
+patronage. He spared no pains nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his
+mind could not rest in the mere enjoyment of music. It sought other
+and higher spheres. His art was destined to absorb into itself the
+whole world of culture, to take an active part in the march of history
+and co-operate in giving expression to the ideas of life. The first
+real exploits of our artist were the _Eroica_ and the _Fidelio_ with
+the Leonore overture; but the path which led to them was one on which
+those immediately surrounding him could not very well follow him, and
+one which subsequently isolated him personally more and more from his
+fellow men.
+
+It was an ill-defined longing for this starry path of a higher
+intellectual existence which brought him to the north of Germany, to
+Berlin, after he had finished the principal parts of the course in
+music under Haydn, Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he did not
+meet with recognition and remuneration in his new home. But, after
+all, the recognition and remuneration he met with there were such as a
+virtuoso might expect. For the present, neither the public nor music
+publishers would have much to do with his compositions. Writing to
+Schiller’s wife, the young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of him:
+“So far as my acquaintance with him goes, he is made for the great
+and the sublime. Haydn has said that he would give him great operas,
+and soon be compelled himself to stop composing.” He informs her, at
+the same time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s Hymn
+to Joy--_Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--to music. We thus see that
+he, even now, harbored those great ideas which engaged him at the
+close of his labors, in the composition of the Ninth Symphony. There
+were as yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of the intellectual
+awakening to which Germany is indebted for its earliest classical
+literature, and the period of its great thinkers in the west and the
+north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s own mind was too full of the
+“storm and stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful harmony and
+the warmth which had made such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
+in South-German Austria. But in the North, the memory of “old Fritz”
+still lived; there the stern rule of mind and conscience, generated
+by Protestantism, still prevailed, while the firm frame-work of his
+own art, the counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first father of
+harmony,” as he calls him himself, was there preserved, apparently, in
+its full strength. In addition to all this, the court there was fond
+of music, and King Frederick William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
+the greatest master of his time, in Berlin; while Beethoven, since the
+Elector’s flight from Bonn, had no further prospects in his home on the
+Rhine. He, therefore, decided to remove to the North.
+
+We find him on his journey thither at the beginning of 1796. “My
+music secures me friends and regard--what more do I want?” he writes
+from Prague to his brother Johann, who, in the meantime, had entered
+into the employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He here composed the
+aria _Ah Perfido_ (op. 65). On his way to Berlin he passed through
+Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these two cities, we have no
+information. The king received him very graciously; he played a few
+times at court and composed the sonatas for cello, op. 5, because
+the king himself played the violincello. The very first impression
+received by Beethoven seems to have been decisive. K. Czerny, to whom
+he taught the piano, tells us something from his own recollection and
+observation about him, which is very characteristic of the man, and
+shows how sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent expectations
+in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation was very brilliant, astonishing
+in the highest degree.... No matter in what society he was thrown, he
+made such an impression on all his hearers that it frequently happened
+that not a dry eye was to be seen, while many broke into sobs. There
+was something wonderful in his expression, besides the beauty and
+originality of his ideas, and the highly intellectual way he had of
+presenting them. When he had finished an improvisation of this kind he
+could break out into a fit of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers
+on the emotions he had excited. At times he even felt injured by those
+signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled
+children?’ and for that reason alone he once declined an invitation
+extended to him by the king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
+kind.”
+
+Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment of a very peculiar kind
+here. Instead of the manliness of character which he, coming from the
+softer South, expected to find in the North, he was confronted with
+a voluptuous luxury to which his art was only a handmaid, and with
+an apparent surfeit of music, the natural outgrowth of the French
+influence due to Voltaire’s residence in Berlin. Such was not the
+spirit of the new era which animated himself, and for the operation
+of which he was seeking a proper theater of action. The king himself
+did all in his power to make Gluck and Mozart settle in Berlin, and
+Handel’s oratorios were played even at the court concerts. But how
+could a man like Beethoven have worked side by side with the ruling
+leaders in music--with a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person in
+Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man, in the full sense of the word,
+was Prince Louis Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked of the
+prince’s playing that “it was not kingly or princely, but only that
+of a good piano player.” But it is probable that from the prince he
+borrowed the chivalric and, at the same time, poetico-enthusiastic
+character found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was finished in
+1800 and dedicated to the prince, “the most human of human beings.”
+
+He played twice in the Singing Academy before its conductor, Fasch,
+and his successor, Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he again
+brought the tears to the eyes of his hearers. But he clearly saw from
+the example of these two principal representatives of the more serious
+taste for music in Berlin, that it was not Bach’s spirit which he was
+in search of that ruled there, but only a caricature of it; and this
+last was by no means a counterpoise to the Italian style of music,
+which still held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna disappointed
+in every respect, but with all the greater confidence in himself. He
+never again left Austria for good. It became the scene of his grandest
+achievements, and it was not long before their history began.
+
+In a small memorandum book used by Beethoven on his journey from Bonn
+to Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take courage. Spite of all
+physical weakness, my mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
+year, and must now be all that I can be. Nothing must be left undone.”
+The father always represented Beethoven to be younger than he really
+was. Even in 1810, the son would not admit that he was forty years
+of age. The words quoted above must, therefore, have been written in
+the winter of 1796 or 1797; and this fact invests them with a greater
+significance than they would otherwise possess; for our artist now saw
+that, without the shadow of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
+abiding places; and he, therefore, strained every nerve, regardless
+of what the consequences might be, “to be a great man sometime;” that
+is, to accomplish something really good in music. This regardlessness
+of consequences manifested itself especially in the little care he
+seemed to take of his physical well-being. A friend, who had every
+opportunity to observe him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that “in
+the summer of 1796, he came home almost overpowered by the heat, tore
+open the doors and windows of the house, took off his coat and vest and
+seated himself at an open window to cool himself. The consequence of
+his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which ultimately settled on the
+organs of hearing. From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
+It is possible that the first symptoms of his deafness did not appear
+as early as 1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into the last
+decade of the last century, that it was brought about by heedlessness
+of his health, and that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
+His genius was so absorbed in his music, that he too frequently forgot
+to take care of the physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan von
+Breuning remarked of him, that “his travels had contributed to mature
+his character; that he was a better judge of men, and had learned
+to appreciate the value, but, at the same time, the rarity of good
+friends.” The hard trials of life had added to the earnestness of his
+disposition, and he was awakening to a full sense of what his own duty
+in this world was. This leads us to the first great and memorable work
+of his genius--to the _Eroica_, followed soon after by the symphony in
+C minor.
+
+When, in the year 1806, one of his friends informed Beethoven of
+Napoleon’s victory at Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
+understand the art of war as well as I do the art of music. If I did
+I certainly would conquer him.” These words express a rivalry almost
+personal in its nature, and could have been spoken only by a fool or
+by a man of power not unlike that of Napoleon himself. And, indeed,
+leaving out of consideration men of genius like Goethe and Schiller,
+whose fame had been long established on a firm foundation, there were
+among his contemporaries men of sovereign ambition, only one person,
+Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any great impression on a man who had
+chosen for his motto: “Power is the moral code of men who distinguish
+themselves above others; and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
+brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by the General of the
+glorious French Republic, who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
+Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the throne of Sweden in our
+day, had participated in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
+Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of 1798. He was young; by his
+origin he belonged to the middle class; he was the representative of
+the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge, unconstrained, in personal
+intercourse with whomsoever he pleased.
+
+The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer, to whom Beethoven’s
+_Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
+was very natural that once Bernadotte and Kreutzer became acquainted
+with Beethoven, their intercourse with him and their friendship for
+him, should have been more than usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was
+sincerely devoted to Napoleon, and who must have felt himself drawn
+still more closely to Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
+general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating the exploits of his
+hero by a symphony. Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler, in
+1823, and his account is corroborated by other facts, that such was the
+first impulse to the composition of the _Eroica_.
+
+But the advocate of power was destined soon to swell to the proportions
+of the hero of intellectual courage. “For thus does fate knock at
+the gates.” Beethoven used these words in 1823, in speaking “with
+uncontrollable enthusiasm” of that wonderful _motive_ at the opening
+of the symphony in C minor. The last movement of the work, the
+fanfare-like _finale_, so expressive of the joy of victory, shows that
+he here described a victory indeed, the surmounting of the obstacles
+and darkness of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
+consisted only of “the infirmities of the body.” The sketches of this
+movement, however, occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18, and hence
+must have been noted down before the year 1800! But the fact that the
+melody of the _adagio_ was also found in that sketch shows that he
+was even then as certain of mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of
+the presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of the sad prospect of a
+“wretched” and lonely future--a prospect which stirred him to the very
+depths of his soul.
+
+But it was years before these _motives_ took shape in his mind. To
+do justice to the great ideas to which they give expression, to the
+heroic victory of power and will over whatever opposes them, he had to
+concentrate and strengthen all his powers of mind and heart, and to
+develop his talents by long exercise. The portraiture of the struggles
+and of the artistic creations of the next succeeding years constitutes
+the transition to those first great heroic deeds--a transition which
+must be understood by all who would understand Beethoven’s music.
+
+The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven, at the close of the last
+century, outgeneraled all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time
+in Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph over the renowned
+pianist Woelffl, in 1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But he
+did still more towards achieving success by his works. His numerous
+variations won over to him many a fair player of the piano, while his
+_Adelaide_, which appeared in 1797, gained for him the hearts of all
+persons of fine feeling; so that Wegeler may have told the simple
+truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never, at least so long as I lived
+in Vienna (1794-96), without a love affair; and he occasionally made
+a conquest which it would have been very hard, if not impossible, for
+many a handsome Adonis to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked man, with
+the piercing eyes, was possessed of a power and beauty more attractive
+than any mere physical charms. And then, there was the charm of his
+sonatas: op. 7, with the funeral song in _adagio_, which he is said to
+have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”; of op. 10, with
+its genuine masculine profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
+with the mysterious struggle in the _allegretto_ in No. II., and the
+brilliant exultation of victory in the _allegro_ in No. III., the
+tragic song of the _largo_, the gentle grace of the minuet--here used
+exceptionally in the place of the _scherzo_, as we find it already in
+op. 1; and, last of all, the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
+_finale_. And yet these were followed by the _Pathetique_, with its
+exquisite and enrapturing _adagio_, and the two beautiful love songs,
+op. 14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he offered to a society
+of friends of his art, true songs of the soul and pictures of life
+overflowing; by the _adagio_ of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet grave
+scene; by the _adagio_ of No. VI., descriptive of the melancholy which,
+even now, began to gather its dark clouds about Beethoven himself,
+whose breast was so well attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
+20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21), sketched after the style of
+Haydn, but painted with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in what
+we may call Beethoven’s older life, which closed with the eighteenth
+century. The beginning of the nineteenth opened a new world to our
+artist.
+
+The new world thus opened to Beethoven, and the manner in which he
+himself conceived it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
+verses:
+
+  “Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige
+  Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,
+  In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!
+  Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,
+  Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,
+  Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.
+  Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,
+  Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,
+  Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”
+
+And now began for Beethoven a period of severe trials, brought upon him
+by himself. Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient care of
+his physical health. His trouble with his hearing was increasing, but
+he paid no attention to it. His carelessness in this regard reduced him
+to a condition in which he would have found no alleviation and no joy,
+were it not for the inexhaustible resources he possessed within himself.
+
+But to understand him fully, we must read what he wrote himself,
+in June, 1801, to the “best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in
+Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before. He says:
+
+  “Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He is in conflict with
+  nature and with God. Many and many a time have I cursed Him because
+  He has made His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
+  nature, and this to such an extent that what promises to be best and
+  most beautiful in life, is destroyed. You must know that what was
+  most precious to me, my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How
+  sad my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved is gone!
+  How happy would I now be, if I could only hear as I used to hear!
+  If I could, I would fly to thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My
+  best years will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of my
+  youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly hoped I would. I must
+  now take refuge in the sadness of resignation.”
+
+We have here the words to the long-drawn funereal tones of a song as we
+find it at the beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor (_Mondschein_)
+sonata op. 27 No. II, which belongs to this period. The direct
+incentive to its composition was Seume’s poem, _die Beterin_ in which
+he gives us a description of a daughter praying for her noble father,
+who has been condemned to death. But in this painful struggle with
+self, we also hear the storm of passion, in words as well as in tones.
+Beethoven’s life at this time was one of sorrow. He writes: “I can say
+that I am living a miserable life. I have more than once execrated my
+existence. But if possible I shall bid defiance to fate, although there
+will be, I know, moments in my life when I shall be God’s most unhappy
+creature.” The thunders of power may be heard in the _finale_ of that
+sonata. When it was published, the following year, its dedication
+ran: _Alla damigella contessa Giulietta Guicciardi_. The celebrated
+Giulietta! Her friendship was, indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in
+Beethoven’s “wretched life” at this time. As he writes himself in the
+fall of the year 1801:
+
+  “My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about among men more than
+  I used to. I am indebted for this change for the better to a lovely,
+  charming girl who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now I
+  have had once more some moments of happiness, and for the first time
+  in my life I feel that marriage might make one happy. Unfortunately,
+  she does not belong to my social circle. But if I cannot get married
+  at the present time, I shall have to mix more among men.”
+
+The family of the imperial counsellor, Count Guicciardi, originally
+from Modena, was one of the families of the higher class with whom
+Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance through his art.
+Guicciardi’s wife belonged to the Hungarian family of the Brunswicks,
+who were likewise very friendly to Beethoven. We shall yet have
+something to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for whom and whose
+sister, the charming Countess Deym, the variations for four hands on
+_Ich denke dein_, were written in 1800. Countess Giulietta was in
+her sixteenth year, and as good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg,
+a musician and composer of ballet music. He was, however, in such
+pecuniary straits that Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to his
+assistance through a friend. The young girl did not give any serious
+thought to a union with the Count, although he belonged to her own
+social circle. The attractions of a genuine love had more charms for
+her. This same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s soul. He writes
+to his friend Wegeler:
+
+  “I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was I not always a
+  sickly man? But, for a time, my physical strength has been increasing
+  more than ever before, and the same is true of my mental power. With
+  every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal which I feel, but
+  cannot describe. Thus only can I live. No rest! I know of no repose
+  but sleep, and it sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time
+  to sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half freed from my
+  trouble and then, a perfectly mature man, I shall come to you and
+  renew our old friendship. You must see me as happy as it is given me
+  to be here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is more than I
+  could bear. I shall struggle manfully with fate, and be sure, it will
+  not overcome me entirely. O, how beautiful it would be to live life
+  over a thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”
+
+To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which lifted him to the height
+of joy and of intellectual delight, we are indebted for those works of
+his which are models of poetic creation. What became of the traditional
+form of the sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song the meaning of
+joy and pain and of their wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
+op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which looks as if thrown off
+with a single stroke of the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
+of fate in the opening chord; the jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment
+of pleasure; the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation
+than realization, when misery wrings a cry of pain from him, and he
+breaks out in recitative--a form of art never before coupled with an
+instrument, but which is here more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy
+and genius have now transformed the mere musician into the artist and
+the poet. Beethoven, as the master of the intellectual world of tones,
+began his career with this sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
+his every piece is a psychological picture of life. The form of the
+sonata had now fully developed the intellectual germ which in it lay.
+It is no longer mere form, but a finite vessel holding an infinite
+intellectual treasure as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
+although retained as usual, are henceforth only phases and stages of
+the development of that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a drama
+played in the recesses of a human soul--in the soul of a man who is
+forced to taste, while still he laughs in his melancholy, the tragic
+contents of the cup of human life during every moment of his existence.
+For thus it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow endows him with
+untrammeled serenity of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent of a
+higher light. A humor that weeps through its smiles is henceforth his.
+
+On this sonata followed a symphony with the real Beethoven flavor, the
+second symphony (op. 36). It had its origin in the “sublime feeling”
+which “animated” him in the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
+also the brilliant _Kreutzer Sonata_ (op. 47). This summer of 1802 is
+a memorable one in Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the severest
+trials of his courage as a man. These trials transformed him into a
+hero, and were the incentives to the composition of the _Eroica_. To
+this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt Will,” which discloses
+to us the inmost depths of Beethoven’s soul.
+
+His physician had ordered him in October, 1802, to the village of
+Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
+Beethoven thought that death was not far off, and, anxious to justify
+himself before posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you men, who
+think or say that I am malignant, obstinate or misanthropic, what an
+injustice you do me! You know not the secret cause of what you think
+you see. From childhood up, my heart and mind have been bent upon the
+accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever moved thereto by the feeling
+of benevolence. To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed. But
+consider that for six--yes, six whole years, I have been in a most
+unfortunate condition--a condition which has been made worse by the
+stupidity of my physicians; that my hopes, from year to year, of being
+cured have been disappointed, and that at last there lies before me
+the prospect of permanent ill. Born with an active and even fiery
+temperament, a lover of the distractions of society, I had to live in
+a state of isolation from all men. How humbled I felt when a person
+standing near me could hear a flute that was playing in the distance,
+while I could hear nothing! Experiences like this brought me to the
+very verge of despair, and I came very near ending my own life. Art
+alone held me back. It seemed to me impossible that I should leave
+the world until I had accomplished all for which I felt myself so
+well fitted. O God, thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
+beneficence and love for human kind. O you men, when you read this,
+remember that you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate rejoice to
+find one of their number who, spite of the obstacles put in his way by
+nature, did all in his power to be admitted into the ranks of artists
+and men worthy of the name.”
+
+And now, too, we find in his music the first traces of such appeals
+to the Godhead. The text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
+appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature. But, in the domain of
+religion, our artist had not yet risen to his full height. He is still
+preponderantly the musician of life, force and of the brilliant play
+of the intellect; and his compositions are still pre-eminently works
+of art and of the fancy. The _Eroica_ (op. 55), which was finished
+in 1803, possessed these characteristics in the highest sense of the
+word. And now we may understand what he felt himself, as he said in his
+“Will,” fitted to accomplish, as well as the mysterious conversation
+he had in 1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which he speaks of
+this period of his life, and of Giulietta, who had now long been the
+Countess Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before, returned from
+Naples, where her husband had acted as director of the theater for
+years. The conversation in question begins thus: It was held in the
+French language--
+
+Beethoven--“She was mine before she was her husband’s or Italy’s, and
+she paid me a visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”
+
+Schindler--“By Hercules!”
+
+Beethoven--“If I had parted in that way with my strength, as well as my
+life, what would have remained to me for nobler and better things?”
+
+Beethoven had said of himself that he had something to do in the
+world besides marrying. His ideal was not to live in such cramped
+circumstances. He knew of “nobler and better things.” Yet it seems
+that he offered his hand to the “lovely, charming girl” in this year
+1803, when he began to have a prospect of permanently bettering his
+condition, and that Giulietta was not disinclined to marry him.
+But family considerations prevented the decisive step; and she was
+married in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg. “Despising”
+her--whether rightly or wrongly we have no means of determining, but we
+do know that she was not happy--Beethoven turned to the performance of
+the great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.
+
+Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand others, thus proves the
+truth of the old saying: the course of true love never did run
+smooth. In his earlier biographies this episode has been treated as
+a great and even tragic event, because that remarkable letter to his
+“immortal love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to speak, was
+erroneously supposed to be addressed to Countess Guicciardi and to
+refer to this circumstance in his life. But although no more than an
+episode, Beethoven could here have mastered his feelings only by the
+full consciousness he now possessed of the duty he owed to his genius.
+As Liszt says, _le genie oblige_, and Beethoven felt that it was a
+duty genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition and even the
+heartfelt happiness that is born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
+wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter: “You paint, and I shall
+compose music. In this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps live
+forever.” And that our artist had some right to lay claim to such
+immortality is proved not only by his sonatas, which are little poems
+in themselves, by his songs and quartets, but by mighty and memorable
+works which reflect the world-soul. He was working on that grand
+creation, the _Eroica_. This sacrifice of his feelings may have been,
+and most likely was, forced upon him by the accident of the uncertainty
+of his position in life, but that it was not made without a struggle
+is manifest from his expression of contempt for Giulietta--_mais je
+la méprisais_ but still more from the ideal of the value of faithful
+love which now became rooted in his soul, and which we see reflected
+in the _Fidelio_, that immediately followed the _Eroica_, and which
+presents us with the most beautiful of all female characters. In its
+composition, we find united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
+in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and which he so beautifully
+embodied in his art. On the golden background of his enthusiasm for
+“nobler and better things,” the sweet face of Leonore stands out in
+bold relief as the perfect type of human beauty.
+
+Beethoven borrowed the tones of the _Eroica_ from the elevating nature
+of humanitarian ideas transferred to the region of public life.
+The hero enters, touching with giant hands the foundations of human
+existence, which he wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And, indeed,
+the First Consul of the French Republic might very well suggest to
+him, at the beginning of this century, how heroes act, the jubilation
+with which nations greet them, how great existing institutions oppose
+their progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their might. The first
+movement of the _Eroica_ describes the most varied events in the life
+of such a hero with a fullness of episode almost destructive of its
+form. In its climax, the real work of the hero is seen; the old order
+of things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces in its powerful and
+terrific syncopations and dissonant chords, to make place for a new
+existence, one more worthy of human beings. But, at the close of the
+movement, the victorious hero exultingly yokes the new order of things
+to his chariot. This is history, the world’s history in tones; and,
+for its sake, we may for the moment shroud the dearest longings of the
+heart in the dark robes of resignation.
+
+Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended the genius of
+liberty, at this time newly born into the world, and a new factor in
+the history of mankind. He understood, too, the tragic fate of all
+heroes--that they are destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
+though God-commissioned, to die, that their works may live and prosper.
+Bonaparte’s history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime and solemn
+step of the funeral march; for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
+no man had stepped as did he through the spaces of the existing order
+of things. But Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far beyond the
+reality that surrounded him. As early as 1802, he wrote to the music
+dealers in Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers of the _Edition
+Peters_: “Away with you all, gentlemen! To propose to me to write
+such a sonata! That might have done in the time when the Revolution
+was at fever heat, but now that everything has returned to the old
+beaten path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat with the Pope,
+to write such a sonata--away with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore,
+who is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom mankind weeps in the
+tones of this funeral march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
+hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that is solemnly borne to
+the grave to the rhythm of this wonderful march--a march which has in
+it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare or an Æschylus.
+Beethoven in this march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
+music, and gave evidence of that quality of soul which made him
+indifferent to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”
+
+The two last movements of the work do not convey so powerful an idea
+of heroic action. Was it that his powers of imagination flagged, or
+that the change in Napoleon’s career made him disgusted with the hero?
+We know that when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the symphony was
+finished--the title, proudly and characteristically enough bearing
+only two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and “Luigi van Beethoven” at
+the bottom--and Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he said: “Can
+it be that he is no more than an ordinary man? Now he, like others,
+will trample all human rights under foot, serve only his ambition and
+become a tyrant.” He tore the title page in two, threw the work on the
+floor and did not again look at it for a long time. When it appeared
+in 1806, it was under the name of the _Sinfonia Eroica_, “composed
+to celebrate the memory of a great man.” It was dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, who purchased it and caused it to be performed before Prince
+Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of 1804. The Prince was so delighted with
+it that he had it played three times the same evening in immediate
+succession, which was a very great satisfaction to Beethoven.
+
+There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental fresco painting of
+a hero who strives and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
+to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the _Fidelio_, which made the
+latter the natural successor of the _Eroica_. Florestan dared “boldly
+to tell the truth,” and this, his entering the lists for right and
+freedom, incites his faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
+Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison, and, just in the nick
+of time, casts herself between her beloved husband and his murderer.
+Her cry--which has in it much of the heroism of death--“kill first
+his wife,” is a bit of history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally
+great, as it is also the most intense dramatic representation, in
+tones, of the full energy of a woman’s love.
+
+In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote: “I have composed music of
+every description, except operas and church music.” But even, a short
+time before this, he had something to do with the theater. He had
+written the ballet _Prometheus_, which represents in a sense, the
+history of the creation of man in choreographic pictures. The success
+of this work determined Schikaneder, well known to the readers of
+the life of Mozart, and who, at this time, had the direction of the
+newly-built theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a large annual
+stipend. When this man, Schikaneder, in the same spring of 1803, saw
+that the oratorio _Christus am Oelberge_ (Christ on the Mount of Olives)
+met with good success, although more theatrical than spiritual in its
+character, he commissioned him to write an opera also. The subject was,
+probably, _Alexander_--a very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
+own heroic style, and his feeling at the time. But nothing came of it.
+There can be no doubt, however, that a piece which he had sketched
+and intended to make a part of it, the duet, _O Namenlose Freude_ (O
+Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the _Fidelio_. Beethoven had
+received a commission to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who had
+taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in the year 1804.
+
+At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and Cherubini were writing for the
+Viennese. The compositions of the latter met with great success, and
+made a powerful impression on Beethoven. In these men he met with foes
+worthy of his steel, and inducements great enough to lead him to do
+his very best. His severe heart trials and consequent disappointment
+had taught him how lonely he was in the world. Breuning wrote of him
+in 1804: “You have no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable, and, I
+might say, horrible an impression his partial loss of hearing has made
+on him.... What must be the feelings of one with such a violent temper,
+to meet with such a misfortune! And then his reserve, and his distrust
+frequently of his best friend!” A subject like that of the _Fidelio_
+must, of itself, have taken strong hold of a man like Beethoven,
+because of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds her mortal enemy,
+Pizarro, spell-bound, with the pistol in her hand. What must have most
+affected him here, however, was the ideal background of suffering for
+truth and freedom--for Pizarro was a tyrant--and the fact that a woman
+had the power that comes of genuine fidelity to avert every danger from
+her beloved husband, even at the risk of her own life. And Beethoven
+endowed the work with his exalted and almost transfigured background of
+feeling, by means of his music, which here depicts the constitution of
+his own nature, and his whole intellectual build. He accurately hits
+the decisive climax of the conflict, and gives to the principal actors
+so much of real personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
+them, and to understand their action from their inner feelings. This,
+in connection with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
+of the dramatic characteristics which we greet in the _Fidelio_. The
+development of the operatic form as such is not further carried on
+in this work. In his pure instrumental music, even more than in the
+_Fidelio_, Beethoven has given form to the language of the soul and to
+the great hidden springs of action of the world and human nature.
+
+A period may come when stricter demands may be made on dramatic art,
+and when, as a consequence, this work may not have as much charm as
+it has for us, because of its fragmentary character. But be this as
+it may, in some of its details it will always appeal irresistibly to
+the finest feeling. We find in it passages like those in Beethoven’s
+improvisation which never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
+real happiness. The greater part of this language was, like Mozart’s
+Cantilene, rich in soul. Yet melodies like _Komm, Hoffnung, lass
+den letzten Stern_, _In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen_ and _O namen,
+namenlose Freude_, are of such a character that “humanity will never
+forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish food and light at
+the same time, and, like certain forces, produce a greater yield in
+proportion as greater demands are made upon them. We frequently find
+in it expressions that are simply inimitable, and when this work is
+contemplated we see that it bears evidence of a profundity of soul and
+of a development of mind which separate--_toto coelo_--Beethoven from
+his predecessors, Mozart not excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of
+the deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of the web and woof of
+the human soul itself. Such, for instance, are _Wir muessen gleich zu
+Werke schreiten_, the chorus of prisoners, the picture of Florestan’s
+dungeon, the digging of the grave, and above all the thrilling _Toet’
+erst sein Weib!_ (kill first his wife). But the center of all is,
+as may be seen from the innumerable and most refined traits of the
+music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity. Her character stirred
+Beethoven to the very depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
+her devotion to freedom were his own. The work itself was to be called
+_Leonore_, as, indeed, the first piano-score was called in 1810.
+
+This work has a meaning in the life of our artist himself, greater,
+almost, than its importance as a work of art.
+
+The work required, for its completion, only the spring and summer of
+the year 1805. The sketches of it show how carefully the file was used
+on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic devotion was able to
+smelt the ore of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes which make
+up the matter of the whole; but this it could not do here fully enough
+to produce that natural flow which dramatic taste even now demanded.
+Moreover, the storm of war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
+hearers of even the calm of devotion. The result was that only the
+prima donna Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the character
+of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as a composer of purely instrumental
+music, had not paid sufficient attention to the demands of the human
+voice. On the 13th of October, 1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after
+the 20th the _Fidelio_ was repeated three times; not, however, before
+the art lovers of Vienna, but before an audience composed of French
+officers. It was received with little applause, and after the first
+performance the house remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the work. But
+even the critics missed in it at this time “that certain splendor of
+originality characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our artist’s friends
+now gathered about him to induce him to make some abbreviations in the
+opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky. Beethoven was never before
+seen so much excited, and were it not for the prayers and entreaties
+of the gentle and tender Princess Christiane, he would certainly have
+agreed to nothing. He consented at last to drop a few numbers, but
+it took six full hours to induce him to do even this. It is easy to
+explain this fact: the work was the pet child of his brain. Breuning
+now re-arranged the libretto. He made the acting more vivacious and
+Beethoven shortened the several pieces still more. The work proved more
+acceptable to the public, but Beethoven thought himself surrounded by
+a network of intrigue, and, as he had agreed only for a share in the
+profits, he once more withdrew the work. We hear no more of it until
+1814. We shall see what effect its production had when we reach that
+date in Beethoven’s life.
+
+But this re-arrangement led to a new overture and to a new poetical
+expression of the subject, to the great _Leonoren-Overture_, known
+as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven, in this overture,
+lets us hear, as if in the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
+Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that flashes across his mind
+when he thinks of his Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
+in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of her own life for her
+beloved husband, and in the signal of trumpets, the coming of her
+rescuer; the calm joy of the unutterably happy husband, as well as the
+boisterous, stormy joy of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
+with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest song of praise of
+freedom and happiness. The symphonic poem, _Leonore_, as a whole, far
+surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together with the _Eroica_, it is
+the second monumental work of Beethoven’s genius in this early period
+of his musical creations, and proves him a matured master in his art.
+
+The proud path thus entered on, he never left.
+
+Besides the works already mentioned, we may, for the sake of
+completeness, mention the following likewise: The _Opferlied_ (1st
+arrangement), _Seufzer eines Ungeliebten_, variations _quant’è più
+bello_, about 1795; variations to _Nel cor più_ and minuet _a la
+Vigano_ which appeared in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
+for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and variations to a Russian
+dance, in 1797; variations to a Swiss song and _Mich brennt_, 1798;
+_Gretels Warnung_, _La partenza_, composed in 1798; variations to
+the _La stessa_, _Kind, willst du_ and _Taendeln und Scherzen_, which
+appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed in 1799; variations in G
+major, composed in 1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
+_Bei Maennern_ which appeared in 1802; terzetto op. 116, sonatas for
+violin, op. 30, variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802; _Glueck der
+Freundschaft_, op. 88 and _Zaertliche Liebe_ which appeared in 1803;
+trio variations op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed in
+1803; three marches op. 45, variations to “Rule Brittannia,” and the
+_Wachtelschlag_, 1804; sonata op. 53, together with the _andante_ in F
+major, originally belonging to it, the _triple concerto_ op. 56, and
+the sonata op. 57, begun in 1804, _An die Hoffnung_, op. 32 and trio
+op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth concerto op. 58, composed in
+1805; trio op. 36, sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; _Empfindungen
+bei Lydiens Untreue_ belonging probably to 1806.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+1806-1812.
+
+THE SYMPHONY C MINOR--THE PASTORALE AND THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.
+
+  The Pastorale--Its Composition--Meaning of the Apassionata--Its
+    History--Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved One”--His Own
+    Opinion of the Apassionata--New Acquaintances--Thinks of Writing
+    Operas--Court-theater Composer--Overture to Coriolanus--The Mass
+    in C., op. 86--His Sacred Music--The Fidelio in Prague--Music
+    for Goethe’s Faust--“Power, the Moral Code”--Power Expressed
+    in Beethoven’s Music--Character of His Works about this
+    Period--Intercourse with the Malfattis--The Cello Sonata, op.
+    69--Other Compositions and their Meaning--Improvement in His
+    Pecuniary Circumstances--Joseph Bonaparte--Vienna Fears to Lose
+    Him--Contemplated Journey to England--The Seventh Symphony--Wagner
+    on the Seventh Symphony--His _Heirathspartie_--His Letter to
+    Bettina--His Estimate of Genius.
+
+
+Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Will, written in the year 1802, closed with
+this painful appeal: “O thou, Providence, let one day more of joy dawn
+on me. How long have I been a stranger to the heartfelt echo of true
+happiness! When, when, O God, can I feel it once more in the temple of
+nature and of man. Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our artist’s
+thoughts were thus directed into channels which carried him far from
+the scenes immediately surrounding him into regions of a higher
+existence--of an existence which he soon described so exquisitely in
+the language of music. The _Pastorale_ which celebrates this “Temple
+of nature” was originally designated as No. 5, and was, therefore,
+intended to be completed before the symphony in C minor. But it would
+seem that Beethoven had to go through many an internal conflict, the
+result of his great depression of spirits, before he could acquire the
+calmness of mind necessary to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
+God in Nature,” and to give it proper form and expression in art.
+
+Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806, that the intrigues about the
+_Fidelio_ were all the more disagreeable to Beethoven because the fact
+that it had not been performed reduced him to some pecuniary straits,
+and that it would take all the longer time for him to recover, as the
+treatment he had received deprived him of a great deal of his love for
+his work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59, bears the memorandum:
+“Begun on the 26th of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony (op. 60), as
+well as the violin concerto (op. 61), also belong to this year. In the
+meantime op. 56, which had been begun some time previous, the triple
+concerto, op. 57, called the _Apassionata_, and op. 58, the fourth
+concerto, were all either continued or finished. What wealth there is
+here--in the number of compositions, in their magnitude and in their
+contents! The three quartets are dedicated to Count Rasumowsky, who had
+given Beethoven the commission to write them, and who had furnished the
+Russian melodies on which they are based. How well the _adagio_ of the
+second of them points us to that higher region in which Beethoven now
+felt himself more and more at home. He himself told Czerny that that
+_adagio_ suggested itself to him one night, when he was contemplating
+the starry heavens, and thinking of the harmony of the spheres. In the
+serene calmness of these vanishing tones, we see the revolution of the
+stars mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all pain seems lightened, all
+passion stilled. Yet how both had raged even in the _Apassionata_,
+the draft of which is to be found immediately following that of the
+_Fidelio_. The _Apassionata_ is written in his heart-blood. Its tones
+are cries of excitement the most painful. It was finished in the
+summer, and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick. An oil painting of the
+count’s sister, Countess Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
+after his death. It bore the superscription: “To the rare genius,
+the great artist, the good man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
+letter to his “immortal love,” already referred to, was addressed
+to her--and it is truly a letter which gives us a pen-picture of
+Beethoven’s condition of mind at that time, and which affords an idea
+of the “gigantic sweep of his ideas.” It was found after his death,
+together with other important papers, in an old chest, and is dated on
+July 6, from a watering place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
+have been written in the year 1806, in which Beethoven paid a visit to
+the Brunswicks. But, be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
+feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt on that sublime height on
+which all earthly desires are silent. It seems also to lead us over to
+the understanding and appreciation of Beethoven’s subsequent creations,
+which henceforth gain an ideal character not of this earth. We can here
+touch only on the principal points in these letters.
+
+  “My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he begin it on the 6th
+  of July, in the morning. He proceeds: “Only a few words to-day, and
+  those in lead-pencil, and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
+  be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What a wretched loss
+  of time for such trifles! Why this deep affliction where necessity
+  speaks? How can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
+  except by limitation of our desires? Can you change the fact that you
+  are not entirely mine nor I entirely yours? Look out on the beauties
+  of nature, and resign yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
+  and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your case. But you
+  forget too easily that I have to live for you as well as for myself.
+  Were we entirely one, you would feel the pain there is in this as
+  little as I.... We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
+  to-day what reflections I have made upon my life, during the past
+  forty-eight hours. Were our hearts always close to one another, I
+  am sure I should make no such reflections. My heart is too full to
+  tell you much. There are moments when I find that language is nothing
+  at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only pet, my all, as I am all
+  yours. The gods must direct the rest in our lives. Thy faithful
+
+                                                                LUDWIG.”
+
+But, on the same dainty little piece of note paper, he continues, for
+the mail had already left:
+
+  “You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am, you are with me. I must
+  try to so arrange it that our life may be one. But what, what a life
+  to be thus without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men which I
+  do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really do earn. That a man
+  should humble himself before his fellow man, pains me; and when I
+  consider myself as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
+  they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we find the divine in
+  that which is human.... No matter how great your love for me, my love
+  for you is greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good night!
+  Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas, that I should be so near
+  and yet so far from you. Is not our love a real firmament of heaven?
+  And is it not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”
+
+He takes up the same piece of paper once more:
+
+  “Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise my thoughts fly
+  to you, dear--to you, immortal love, now joyfully, now sadly, waiting
+  to see whether the fates will hear our prayer. If I shall live at
+  all, it must be with you. I am resolved to wander about far away
+  from you, until the time comes when I may fly into your arms, and
+  say that I belong to you; until I may send my soul absolved by you,
+  dear, into the land of spirits. Yes, unfortunately it must be so.
+  You will be all the more composed, since you know how faithful I am
+  to you. Another can never possess my heart--never! Why, O God, must
+  a man be so widely separated from the object of his love? And yet
+  the life I now live in Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
+  once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men. At my present
+  age, there should be some uniformity in my life; but is such a thing
+  possible in my present circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
+  contemplation of our existence can we gain our object and live
+  united. Be patient! love me! How I longed and wept for you to-day and
+  yesterday; you, my life, my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget
+  the most faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine and
+  thou forever mine.”
+
+How completely like Beethoven! It was during this very summer that he
+completed the _Apassionata_, which he always considered the greatest
+of his sonatas, at the home of the Brunswicks. Can it be said that
+its language is in anything greater than the language of this letter?
+He seems at this time to be nearly always possessed by a feeling of
+melancholy. But for this very reason he took refuge more than ever in
+music. It was, indeed, a real sanctuary to him, and he refused to open
+that sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of all, to the eyes
+of enemies. This he very plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
+the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and was spending some time in
+Silesia with the prince. The latter desired him to play for some French
+officers who were quartered in his castle. A violent scene immediately
+ensued. After it was over, Beethoven left the castle. He refused to go
+back with the prince who had followed him, but repaired, post haste,
+back to Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was broken to pieces
+as an expiatory sacrifice. It was not long, however, before the old
+friendship of the two was re-established.
+
+In the quartet sketches of this year, we find the words: “Just as you
+can cast yourself here into the whirl of society, it is possible to
+write operas spite of all social impediments. Let the fact that you
+do not hear be a mystery no longer, even in your music.” This “whirl
+of society” introduces us to some new acquaintances. Count Rasumowsky
+held very brilliant soirées, at which the amiable and charming wife
+of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed some of Beethoven’s works in
+an exquisite manner. The playing of the elegant and handsome Countess
+Marie Erdoedy, whom Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
+was not inferior to that of Madame Bigot. Other patrons of the musical
+art were Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming Frankfort lady, and
+the Malfattis, one of whom was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
+Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein, daughter of the Augsburg
+piano-maker, described in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll a manner,
+was the rendezvous of lovers of music. Nor must we forget to mention
+Prince Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother, the Archduke
+Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished pupil, who, as our artist himself
+admitted, understood music thoroughly.
+
+The chief value, however, of the works quoted above, is that they
+inform us how Beethoven, spite of his experience with the _Fidelio_,
+was thinking very seriously of the writing of “operas.” If successful
+here, his fortune was made, and there was nothing then to hinder the
+crowning of his love by marriage. There now seemed to be a very good
+prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807, the two court-theaters
+passed into the hands of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at
+their head. Lobkowitz immediately called upon Beethoven to act as
+composer for the Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position, and
+bound himself to write at least one great opera and operetta each
+year, and to supply whatever other music might be needed. A feeling of
+inexhaustible power must have inspired him at this time, when he was
+actuated by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence in self. A
+forcible proof of this is the overture which he then wrote to Collins’s
+_Coriolanus_. But the gentlemen did not accede to his wishes; they did
+not want to trust him as composer of instrumental music in this point;
+and thus Beethoven, although not particularly pleased by the action of
+his princely friends, was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
+in the field of labor most in harmony with his disposition.
+
+“If it be true that genuine strength and a fullness of deep feeling
+characterize the Germans, we must say that Beethoven was, above all,
+a German artist. In this, his most recent work, we cannot but admire
+the expressiveness and depth of his music, which so grandly painted
+the wild, perturbed mind of _Coriolanus_, and the sudden and terrible
+change in his fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.” These
+lines are from an account of a concert given in the _Augarten_ by
+Lichnowsky in the spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
+that Beethoven was now engaged on the symphony in C minor and on the
+_Pastorale_. Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a large and thriving
+music business in London, and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
+was French at the time, he felt at his ease so far as money matters
+were concerned. He writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807: “I
+can now hope to be able, in a few years, to maintain the dignity of
+a real artist.” And when, in the same letter, we read the farther
+passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell her that I fear that I shall
+become great without a monument, to which she has contributed,” we can
+understand how love, fame and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for
+new and mighty exploits in art.
+
+The next work published by Beethoven was the Mass in C, op. 86,
+which Esterhazy gave him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
+even more than in opera, missed the spirit of his subject. The Mass
+bears witness to his intellect, and has all the charms of sound; but
+it is not a religious composition. When Beethoven himself wrote to
+Esterhazy, as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that it is not
+without many misgivings that I shall send you the Mass, for I know
+you are accustomed to have the inimitable works of the great Haydn
+performed for you,” he proves that he did not understand the real
+spirit of church music; for Haydn had, just as little as Beethoven,
+a true conception of what church music is. Haydn was now seventy-six
+years old, and Beethoven attended a performance of his _Creation_ the
+following year, and, with a number of the distinguished nobility,
+received the celebrated guest at the door. The fame of the man whom
+he was thus called upon to honor, was a type of what his own was
+destined one day to be. And what his own fame would be, the production
+of the great works he had recently finished, must have enabled him
+to foresee. When the Mass was performed, in September, 1807, in
+Eisenstadt, our composer had a personal falling out--the result of a
+misunderstanding--with Mozart’s pupil, Hummel; and one which was not
+made up for for some years. The prince had criticised Beethoven’s Mass
+by asking the strange question: “But, my dear Beethoven, what have you
+been doing now?” Hummel could not help laughing at this strange mode of
+criticism. Beethoven supposed he was laughing at his work; and after
+this would have nothing more to do with the prince.
+
+It was otherwise with the magnanimous, noble lover of art, Prince
+Lobkowitz, one of the principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
+principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven was indebted for
+the suggestion that the _Fidelio_ should be performed in Prague. For
+the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year, 1807, the overture, op.
+138, which is, therefore, to be accounted not the second, but the third
+_Leonore_ overture. The performance of the _Fidelio_, however, did
+not take place until 1814, the same year in which it was performed in
+Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it was publicly announced that
+“the gifted Beethoven had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s Faust to
+music, as soon as he could find any one to prepare it for the stage.”
+The first part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a “tragedy;” and,
+as we shall see, the poem made a deep impression on our artist. Long
+after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied his thoughts. But he had,
+even now, written some Faust music--the symphony in C minor. To it we
+now turn, for it is one of the greatest of Beethoven’s creations.
+
+We have seen how Beethoven himself once said: “Power is the moral code
+of men who distinguish themselves above others.” And so we hear how
+one person described him as “power personified;” how another said of
+him that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through his eyes:” and
+a third, that “his magnificent forehead was the seat of majestic,
+creative power.” Spurred on by the opposition of “fate,” that is,
+by what nature had denied him, we see this power appear in all its
+concentration and sublimity. The power which has created, and which
+preserves all things, has been called “will,” and music, one of its
+immediate phenomena, while the other arts are only reflections of that
+will, and reflect only the things of the world. In the first movement
+of the symphony in C minor, we feel the presence of this power or
+personal will, to an extent greater than in any other work of art. It
+there appears in fullest action, in all its nobility. The symphony
+might not inappropriately have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
+for it is a veritable head of Jove, such as only a Phidias could
+have imagined. Melody has been described as the history of the will
+illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form of the symphony is just such
+kind of melody. And it is this fifth symphony of Beethoven’s, which,
+more than any other, tells us the most secret history of that personal
+will, of all its strivings and motions. No type in any art, could have
+suggested a Siegfried to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius acts
+as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence of the prototype
+of the Great Spirit. Yet when the work was performed in Paris, Hector
+Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say of it--and this, although he
+was deeply moved by it--“but such music should not be heard.” “Don’t
+be afraid,” was the reply, “there will be little of that kind of
+music written.” How correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
+Siegfried’s _Rheinfahrt_, in the _Goetterdaemmerung_, is music of “that
+kind.”
+
+But it is only the night of sorrow that gives birth to the
+concentration of power. It is only by great effort that this energy
+can be maintained. And as Coriolanus finely presses all the darts
+aimed at him by his mother into her own heart, in defying sacrifice,
+so we find, in the background of this holiest and most manly will, the
+consciousness of the variety and transitory character of all things.
+In his heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has knocked at his
+door, only because in his following the dictates of force and action,
+he has sinned against nature, and that all will is only transitoriness
+and self-deception. The _adagio_ expresses subjection to a higher will.
+The consciousness of this highest act of the will, to sacrifice one’s
+self and yet to preserve one’s freedom, gave birth to the song of
+jubilation in the _finale_ which tells not of the joy and sorrow of one
+heart only; it lifts the freedom which has been praised and sought for
+into the higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony in C minor has
+a significance greater than any mere “work of art.” Like the production
+of religious art, it is a representation of those secret forces which
+hold the world together.
+
+The consciousness of this deeper, intimate dependence of all things on
+one another, is henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the darkness
+which gathered around him, and it continues to beautify and transfigure
+his creations.
+
+The _Pastorale_ immediately followed the symphony in C minor. It
+gives expression to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
+the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature and calm your soul
+by the contemplation of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
+compared with the fifth, is a symphony and nothing more--even if
+it be Beethoven’s--we plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
+spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and character it illustrates
+constitutes in Beethoven’s life the transition from the external beauty
+of nature to the comprehension of the eternal. Over it is written:
+“Recollections of country life,” but also, “More an expression of
+feeling than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved the Rhine,” the young
+playmates of the boy Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself to
+Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful region in which I first saw the
+light as plainly and as beautiful as the moment I left you.” On a
+leaf, written in his own hand, we find the words: “O the charm of the
+woods--who can express it?” But now that he was compelled to live a
+solitary life, nature became to him a mother, sister and sweetheart.
+He looked upon the wonders of nature as into living eyes; she calmed
+him who was naturally of such a stormy temperament, and to whom life
+had been unkind in so many ways. In the _Scene am Bach_ (Scene by the
+Brook), the waters murmur peace to his soul; and the birds by the
+brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where these two symphonies were finished,
+whisper joy. His _Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute_, infuses new
+courage into the heart, and when his _Gewitter und Sturm_, tells of the
+might of the Eternal, the shepherds express their joyful and grateful
+feelings in the words: _Herr wir danken dir_. The _finale_, like the
+_Chorphantasie_ (op. 80), planned in 1800 but not finished until 1808,
+was intended to contain a chorus expressing in words the joyful and
+thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s own personal experience
+is always expressed in his music. A more intimate acquaintance with
+nature gave it to him to find yet deeper expression for the feelings
+which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting change enabled him
+to conceive the eternal and imperishable.
+
+We now turn to a whole series of new and brilliant creations of our
+hero. It would seem as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
+had given him new life.
+
+During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy with the Malfattis and their
+two charming daughters, was a great source of pleasure to him. His
+feelings towards them may be inferred from the following passages in
+his notes to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I feel so well when
+I am with them that they seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
+have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect to find there in the _Wilden
+Mann_ in the park, no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And again: “My
+greetings, to all who are dear to you and to me. How gladly would I
+add--and to whom we are dear???? These points of interrogation are
+becoming, at least in me.” Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
+Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed Theresa, who made her
+debut in society about this time, and whom he writes of as “volatile,
+taking everything in life lightly” but “with so much feeling for all
+that is beautiful and good, and a great talent for music,” he sends
+a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s
+translation of Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse with the
+family had that intellectual foundation which Beethoven could not
+dispense with, on anything. It would even seem as if, in his enthusiasm
+to put his strength to the test of new deeds, even his “eternal loved
+one” should fade from his view.
+
+The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his friend Gleichenstein
+immediately followed the _Pastorale_. The two magnificent trios
+dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he resided at this time,
+follow as op. 70. The first movement of the trio in D major is a
+brilliantly free play of mind and force, while the _adagio_ suggests
+Faust lost in the deep contemplation of nature and its mysteries. The
+whole, on account of the mysterious awe expressed by this movement has
+been called by musicians the _Fledermaustrio_, i. e., the bat-trio.
+The _Leonore_ is numbered op. 72. It was published in 1810. Op. 73,
+the most beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the Archduke
+Rudolph. We have further, op. 74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op. 77, to his friend
+Brunswick; lastly, the sonata in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly
+valued by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister Theresa. Verily
+“new acts” enough, and what glorious deeds!
+
+This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed a change for the
+better in Beethoven’s pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
+permanent salary. On the 1st of November, 1808, he wrote to the
+Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,--whom he had visited in the fall of 1806,
+in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave him a commission to write
+a symphony, which the count, however, never received--as follows:
+“My circumstances are improving without the assistance of people who
+entertain their friends with blows. I have also been called to act as
+_capellmeister_ to the King of Westphalia, and perhaps I may obey the
+call.” The following December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the
+programme of which embraced the two new symphonies, parts of his Mass,
+the concerto in G minor, and the _Chorphantasie_. He himself improvised
+at the piano. The attention of people far and near was called anew
+to this great and grave master in music, whom the sensualist Jerome
+Bonaparte endeavored to attract to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
+anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s friends bestirred
+themselves to keep him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to stay.
+This is very evident from the letters to Gleichenstein and Erdoedy.
+Three friends of his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote one of
+his greatest works, were instrumental in keeping him in Vienna. They
+were the Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Kinsky, to whose
+wife the six songs, op. 75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed amounted
+to eight thousand marks. “You see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he
+writes, on the 18th of March, 1809, _a propos_ of the “decree” which he
+had received on the 26th of February, from the hands of the archduke,
+and which imposed on him no duty but to remain in Vienna and Austria,
+“how honorable to me my stay here has become.” He could not, however,
+have meant seriously what he added immediately after: “The title of
+imperial _capellmeister_ will come to me also;” for what use had a
+man like the Emperor Franz for such an “innovator” at his court? The
+dedications of his works mentioned above were simply testimonials of
+gratitude for the friendship thus shown him.
+
+He now planned an extensive journey, which was to embrace England,
+and even Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now you can help me get
+a wife. If you find a pretty one--one who may perhaps lend a sigh to
+my harmonies, do the courting for me. But she must be beautiful; I
+cannot love anything that is not beautiful; if I could I should fall
+in love with myself.” The coming war interrupted all his plans. But,
+at the same time, it suggested to the imagination of our artist, that
+wonderful picture of the battle of forces, the seventh (A major)
+symphony (op. 92), which Richard Wagner has called the “apotheosis
+of the dance.” Germany now first saw the picture of a genuinely
+national war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary foe, and
+the whole people, from the highest noble to the meanest peasant rose
+up, as one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The march is, after
+all, only the dance of war, and Beethoven gathered into one picture
+of instrumentation, the glad tramp of warlike hosts, the rhythm of
+trampling steeds, the waving of standards and the sound of trumpets,
+with a luminousness such as the world had never witnessed before. The
+poet needs only see the eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the
+vapor and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven, this joy in the
+game of war was, as the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
+a stimulant to his imagination, which now painted a picture of the
+free play of force and of human existence from the material of recent
+historical events. And even in after years the timeliness of this work
+and the spirit which called it into existence were evident. And, as
+we shall soon see, it constituted the principal part in the musical
+celebration, when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation occurred and
+led to a most decided victory. Personally, Beethoven felt himself
+not inferior to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and, like
+Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening of the national genius which
+overthrew Napoleon. To this second-sight of the prophet, possessed by
+every genuine poet--to this sure presentiment of ultimate triumph--our
+artist owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s greatest ignominy
+and subjection he sang of the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
+jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the Austrians again. But as
+Beethoven first felt the weight and the power of resistance of Germany
+after the battles of Aspern and Wagram, he now depicted (after Napoleon
+had taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and seemed predestined to
+become the despot of all Europe), in the _scherzo_ and _finale_ of
+the seventh symphony, better than ever before, the jubilation of the
+victorious nation, with all its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
+melancholy second part, with its monotonous beats on the _dominante_,
+we think we hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march. This exceedingly
+characteristic theme is found at the very beginning of a sketch-book of
+the year 1809.
+
+Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition in Vienna and all
+Austria. The burthen of taxation was severely felt. Everything was at
+a standstill. When his beloved pupil, the Archduke Rudolph retreated
+from Vienna he wrote the _Lebewohl_ of the sonata op. 81^a; but its
+_finale_ (_die Ankunft_) was not written until the 30th of January,
+1810. The summer was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there was no demand
+for the exercise of his genius. Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger,
+Fux and Albrechtsberger he prepared the _Materiellen zum Generalbass_
+(materials for thorough-bass) for his noble pupil. This work was
+subsequently but wrongly published under the name of _Beethoven’s
+Studien_. On the 8th of September, a charity concert was given at
+which--to the disgrace of the period, be it said, for Napoleon had only
+just left Schoenbrunn--the _Eroica_ was performed, Beethoven himself
+holding the baton. The rest of the summer he hoped to spend in some
+quiet corner in the country. He sojourned sometime with the Brunswicks
+in Hungary, and composed those works of his genius, op. 77 and 78. His
+genius, indeed, seems to have awakened to a new life during this fall
+of 1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh symphony (op. 92) contains
+sketches of the 8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated giving
+another concert at Christmas, at which, of course, only new works
+could be performed. These sketches are followed by drafts for a new
+concerto. On these drafts we find the words: _Polonaise fuer Clavier
+allein_, also _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_--“finish the overture”
+and “detached periods like princes are beggars, not the whole.” He
+here takes up once more those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
+conception of their meaning. They constitute the intellectual germ of
+the _finale_ of the ninth symphony. But the melody which he actually
+noted down was elaborated in 1814 into the overture op. 115 (_Zur
+Namensfeier_).
+
+During this period of Germany’s national awakening, the theaters had
+again turned their attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of this
+was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas. He now desired to give _Tell_
+a musical dress. He had already received a commission of this kind
+for the _Egmont_, and, on the occasion of his receiving it, he gave
+expression to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny: “Schiller’s
+poems are exceedingly difficult to set to music. The composer must
+be able to rise high above the poet. But who can rise higher than
+Schiller? Goethe is much easier.” And, indeed, his _Egmont_ overture
+breathes a higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than Goethe’s
+beautiful tragedy. The composition of this music led to his more
+intimate acquaintance with the poet. To this same year, 1810, belong
+the incomparable songs _Kennst du das Land_, and _Herz mein Herz_, in
+op. 75.
+
+This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat mysterious point in
+Beethoven’s life, to his _Heirathspartie_ (marriage speculation).
+
+In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall: “Do you recollect the
+condition I am in--the condition of Hercules before Queen Omphale?
+Farewell, and never again speak of me as the great man, for I never
+felt either the weakness or the strength of human nature as I do now.”
+But writing to Wegeler on the second of May, he says: “For a couple of
+years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful life. I was carried by
+force into the world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps one of the
+very happiest of men, were it not that the demon has taken up his abode
+in my ears. Had I not read somewhere that man should not voluntarily
+take leave of life while he is still able to do one good deed, I should
+long have departed hence, and by my own act. Life is very beautiful,
+but, in my case, it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the certificate
+of his baptism, and this in a manner so urgent that it creates
+surprise. It was three months before the answer to the enigma was
+found, and Breuning wrote that he believed that Beethoven’s engagement
+was broken off. But it continues a mystery, even to this day, who his
+choice was. It has been surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
+or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing certain on this point. True,
+he had now acquired both fame and a position which raised him above all
+fear of want. But she was thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
+In addition to this, there was, on his side, a relationship of the
+nature of which we shall yet have something to say. Her passion, if
+such there was on her part, must have been prudently concealed; and it
+is certainly remarkable that, from this time forward, her name is not
+mentioned by Beethoven. However, her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
+who is still living, expressly writes: “I never heard of any intimate
+relation nor of any love between them, while Beethoven’s profound love
+for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi, was a matter of frequent
+mention.” But Giulietta had at this time long been Countess Gallenberg.
+The solution of this mystery, accordingly, belongs to the future.
+
+On the other hand, we have a few notes to Gleichenstein, who married
+the younger Malfatti, the following year. In one of them we read: “You
+live on still, calm waters--in a safe harbor. You do not feel or should
+not feel the distress of the friend who is caught in the storm. What
+will people think of me in the planet Venus Urania? How can one judge
+of me who has never seen me? My pride is so humbled, that even without
+being ordered to do so, I would travel thither with thee.” And, in the
+other: “The news I received from you cast me down again out of the
+regions of happiness. What is the use of saying that you would send
+me word when there was to be music again? Am I nothing more than a
+musician to you and to others? Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find a
+resting-place. Externally, to myself there is none. No, friendship and
+feelings like it have only pain for me. Be it so, then. Poor Beethoven,
+there is no external happiness for you. You must create your own
+happiness. Only in the ideal world do you find friends.” The sketch of
+that and Klaerchen’s song _Freudvoll und leidvoll_ were found in the
+possession of Theresa Malfatti. When Gleichenstein was engaged, the
+feelings of the man who had been so bitterly deceived overflowed. But
+how could the young girl of eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
+would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died unmarried. Theresa Malfatti
+married, in 1817, one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
+intercourse with the family continued.
+
+We next hear of his acquaintance with Bettina Brentano which led to his
+meeting Goethe in person.
+
+Her brother Francis had married a Miss Birkenstock, of Vienna.
+Beethoven had been long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
+family. Bettina Brentano herself was betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and
+her deep love of music had inspired her with a genuine affection for
+Beethoven. One beautiful day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
+of heart, went, in company with her married sister, Mrs. Savigny, to
+Beethoven and met with the very best reception. He sang for her _Kennst
+du das Land_, with a sharp and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
+“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are touched by something good. But
+such men have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery and do not
+weep.” He escorted her home to Brentano’s, and after this they met
+every day.
+
+Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account of the impression made on
+her by Beethoven’s appearance and conversation. Her charming letters
+are to be found in the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. They show how exalted
+an idea Beethoven had of his own high calling. She writes: “He feels
+himself to be the founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
+life of man. He begets the undreamt-of and the uncreated. What can such
+a man have to do with the world? Sunrise finds him at his blessed
+day’s work, and at sunset he is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
+even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor or King is as conscious of
+his power and of the fact that all power proceeds from him, as is this
+man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who “loved to contemplate and fix in memory
+the picture of real genius,” who well knew “that his intellect was
+even greater than his genius, and who frequently throws from himself a
+luminousness like that of lightning, so that we can scarcely tell, as
+we sit in the darkness, from what side the day may break,” invited him
+to Carlsbad, whither he was wont to go every year.
+
+The two remarkable letters to Bettina of the 11th of August, 1810,
+and the 10th of February, 1811, the autographs of which have since
+been found, show us how deeply the heart of our artist was stirred
+by love at this time. They are to be found in “Beethoven Letters.” A
+work of his composed about this time, the _Quartetto serioso_, op.
+95, of October, 1810, throws some light on this love, and yet it
+rises far above the pain and the sorrow of the situation in which
+he found himself. Heavy thunders announce Vulcan at work; but in the
+_finale_, how Beethoven’s giant mind frees itself from itself! The
+noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates from the spring of 1811,
+and, especially in the _adagio_, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
+bliss. But the fact that in this period no other compositions were
+written would go to show the influence of bitter experience. It may
+be, however, that the commission he received for the plays “The Ruins
+of Athens” and “King Stephen,” took up the best portion of his time;
+and, besides, the two symphonies had to be finished. The song _An die
+Geliebte_ also belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
+draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish sonata for the violin
+which was finished in 1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
+celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.
+
+Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up the summer of 1811, but
+they were not put upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At the same
+time, an opera was wanted for Vienna. It was the “Ruins of Babylon.”
+He also received an invitation to Naples, where Count Gallenberg
+was director of the theater. We next find him traveling to Teplitz,
+a bathing place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance with
+Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
+maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was stopping with Elise.
+Amalie had a charming voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
+endowments as for her beauty of physique. Beethoven, spite of his many
+disappointments, was greatly taken with her. Her picture is before
+us. Her eye betokens intellect and nobility of soul, and her mouth
+extreme loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to Tiedge: “Press
+the Countess’s hand for me very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
+Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is looking.” He did not see
+Goethe on this occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following year,
+when his meeting--of which so much has been said and written--“with
+the most precious jewel of the German nation,” as he called Goethe,
+when writing to Bettina, occurred. We can here give only the principal
+incidents of that event.
+
+The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter, the Empress of France,
+the King of Saxony, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great many Princes
+were there. The company already in the place was joined by Goethe, the
+jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von Arnim, together with his
+charming wife, Bettina. Beethoven himself writes on the 12th of August,
+1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:
+
+  “I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And the poet, writing
+  to Zelter, passes the following judgment on Beethoven: “I became
+  acquainted with Beethoven in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
+  me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed character. He is
+  not, indeed, wrong in finding the world detestable. Still, his
+  finding it detestable does not make it any more enjoyable either to
+  himself or to others. But he is very excusable and much to be pitied.
+  His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature laconic, and this defect
+  is making him doubly so.”
+
+The remarkable incident related in the third letter to Bettina, a
+letter which has been widely read and the authenticity of which
+has been much contested--for the original does not seem to be
+extant--Bettina herself describes in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau.
+Goethe, she says, who had received many marks of attention from the
+Princes present, was desirous of testifying his special devotion to
+the Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions” signified to
+Beethoven that he should do the same. But Beethoven replied: “What! You
+must not do so. You must let them clearly understand what they possess
+in you; for if you do not, they will never find it out. I have taken
+quite a different course.” And then he told how his Archduke once sent
+him word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he went away. Princes
+might indeed, he said, decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
+make a man a court counsellor, but they could never make a Goethe or a
+Beethoven. To such men they owed respect. The whole court now came in.
+Beethoven said to Goethe: “Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
+But Goethe left him and stood aside with his hat in his hand, while
+Beethoven, with folded arms, went through the midst of them and only
+touched his hat. The court party separated to make place for him, and
+they had all a friendly greeting for our artist. He stood and waited
+at the other end for Goethe, who bowed profoundly as the court party
+passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have waited for you, because I
+honor and respect you, as you deserve, but you have done them too much
+honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven ran to them, and told them all that
+had happened.
+
+That his behavior, on this occasion, was not by any means dictated
+by any over-estimation of himself, but by a deep human feeling of
+equality--an equality which the artist finds it harder than any one
+else to assert and acquire--the whole course of Beethoven’s life, as
+well as his intercourse with people at this bathing place at Teplitz,
+proves. He there found Miss Sebald again. A series of very tender
+notes written to her tells us of his heartfelt and good understanding
+with this refined and clever North German lady, who made greater
+allowances for his natural disposition than were wont to be made. He
+writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure, I shall never possess.”
+His admission that, for five years--that is from 1811,--he had known
+a lady to be united to whom he would have esteemed it the greatest
+happiness he could have on earth, was made in this same year. But, he
+added, that was a happiness not to be thought of; union with her was
+an impossibility, a chimera! And yet he closed with the words: “It is
+still as it was the first day I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought
+of her from my mind.” He did not know that Amalie Sebald had been the
+wife of a councillor of justice named Krause. Again did he give vent to
+his feeling in the songs _An die ferne Geliebte_--“to the distant loved
+one”--which bear the date; “in the month of April, 1816.”
+
+This was the last time that Beethoven seriously concerned himself
+about marriage. Fate would indeed have it that he should soon become a
+“father,” but without a wife. Yet no matter what the personal wishes
+of our artist through the rest of his life may have been, or what the
+wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed on a lofty goal; and it was
+in the ideal world that he found his real friends. He finished the
+seventh symphony, and after it the eighth, in this fall of 1812. The
+coquettish _allegretto scherzando_ of the latter was suggested by
+the Maelzl metronome invented a short time before, and the strange
+minuet with its proud step is a hit at the high court society whom
+Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times of the old regime, when
+the principle _l’état c’est moi_ obtained in society, were passed.
+These works are clearly expressive of the free and progressive spirit
+of a new and better age. It was the seventh symphony especially that,
+in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven himself the hearts of that
+age. This symphony helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
+by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven now entered a new stage of
+development, and rose to his full height as an artist and a man. Other
+works composed by Beethoven during this period are the following: 82
+variations (1806-7); _In questa tomba_ (1807); _sonatine_ (op. 79);
+variations op. 76 and _Lied aus der Ferne_ (composed 1809); _die laute
+Klage_ (probably 1809); Sextett op. 8^b. _Andenken_, _Sehnsucht_ by
+Goethe; _der Liebende_, _der Juengling in der Fremde_ (appeared in
+1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed in 1810); Scotch songs
+(commenced in 1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811); trio in
+one movement and three _equale_ for four trombones, (composed in 1812)
+the latter of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s burial.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+1813-1823.
+
+THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.
+
+  Resignation--Pecuniary Distress--Napoleon’s Decline--The
+    Battle-Symphony--Its Success--Beethoven’s Own Estimate of
+    It--Wellington’s Victory--Strange Conduct--Intellectual
+    Exaltation--His Picture by Letronne--The Fidelio Before the
+    Assembled Monarchs--Beethoven the Object of Universal
+    Attention--Presents from Kings--Works Written in 1814 and
+    1815--The Liederkreis--Madame von Ertmann--His Nephew--Romulus
+    and the Oratorio--His “Own Style”--Symphony for London--Commission
+    from London--Opinion of the English People--His Songs--His Missa
+    Solemnis--His Own Opinion of It--Its
+    Completion--Characteristics--The Ninth Symphony.
+
+
+“Resignation, the most absolute and heartfelt resignation to thy fate!
+Thou shouldst not live for thyself, but only for others. Henceforth
+there is no happiness for thee, but in thy art. O God, grant me
+strength to conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me to life.” With
+this cry of the heart, taken _verbatim_ from his diary of 1812,
+Beethoven consecrated himself to the noble task which after this he
+never lost sight of--of writing “for the honor of the Almighty, the
+Eternal, the Infinite.”
+
+The national bankruptcy of Austria did not leave Beethoven unaffected.
+It compelled him, besides, to come to the assistance of his sick
+brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore, that he felt called upon
+to undertake, in order to provide himself with the mere means of
+subsistence, was the public representation of his new compositions.
+It was not long before an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
+an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations to the dignity of one
+of the motive powers of the national life of the period. The star of
+Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the gigantic struggle begun
+to bring about the overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted the
+sympathy and active participation of our artist.
+
+“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain as I am! O, what a
+difference between the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
+often! O, horrible circumstances which do not suppress my desire to
+be thrifty, but which keep one from being so. O, God! O, God! look
+down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let this last no longer as it is.” Thus
+did he write in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher, interested
+herself in him in his pecuniary embarrassment, which was so great
+that at one time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots to leave
+the house in. He writes: “I do not deserve to be in the condition I
+am--the most unfortunate of my life.” The payments due him from Kinsky
+did not come, because of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s love of
+music and the theater had greatly embarrassed him financially. Even
+the giving of a concert which he contemplated had to be abandoned in
+consequence of the bad times.
+
+The idea of a journey to London now took possession of him all the
+more strongly because of the straits to which he was reduced. This
+journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking” referred to above. It
+is deserving of special mention here, because to it we are indebted for
+the ninth symphony.
+
+Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had built a panharmonicum, and
+was anxious to make the journey to London in company with Beethoven.
+He had had the burning of Moscow set for his instrument; and he
+now wanted a musical representation of the next great event of the
+time--Wellington’s victory at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to
+Beethoven. Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and love of England induced
+him to adopt it, and this was the origin of the _Schlachtsymphonie_
+(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance with Maelzl’s proposition,
+he elaborated what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
+instrumental composition. It was performed before a large audience “for
+the benefit of the warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
+And--, irony of fate!--a work which Beethoven himself declared to be a
+“piece of stupidity,” took the Viennese by storm, and at a bound, made
+him very popular in Vienna.
+
+It was performed on the 12th of December, 1813. The applause was
+unbounded. All the best artists of the city were with him. Salieri,
+Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh, Mayseder, and even strangers like
+Meyerbeer, assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the ideal foundation
+of the entire production, for that symphony was the expression of the
+awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation. Anton Schindler, of whom
+we have already spoken more than once, and of whom we shall have more
+to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s companion, writes: “All hitherto
+dissenting voices, with the exception of a few professors of music,
+finally agreed that he was worthy of the laurel crown.” He rightly
+calls the production of this piece one of the most important events in
+Beethoven’s life; for now the portals of the temple of fame were opened
+wide to receive him; and if he had had nothing “nobler or better” than
+this to do in life, he certainly would never again feel the want of the
+good things of this world.
+
+His next concern was to turn the occasion of the moment to advantage,
+to give some concerts with _Wellington’s Victory_, and thus obtain
+leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins of Athens” also were played
+at these concerts. The success of one aria in particular from that
+composition suggested to one of the singers of the court-opera the
+idea of reviving the _Fidelio_. It then received the form in which
+we have it to-day. And what a hold the character of Leonore still
+had on our artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the dramatic
+poet, Treitschke, who again tried to abridge the text. He had given
+expression to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
+dungeon, in the words:
+
+  “Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?
+    Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?
+  Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft
+    Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,
+  Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,
+  Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”
+
+“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will never fade from my memory.
+Beethoven came to me in the evening. He read, ran up and down the
+room, murmured, growled, as he usually did instead of singing, and
+tore open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently begged him in vain to
+play. To-day he placed the text before him and began playing wonderful
+melodies, which unfortunately no charm could preserve. The hour passed.
+Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation. Supper was served but
+he would allow no one to disturb him. It grew quite late. He then put
+his arms about me and hurried home. A few days after the piece was
+finished.”
+
+At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My kingdom is in the air. My
+soul trills as the winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short I assure
+you, the opera will win the crown of martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s
+sorrows and victory found expression a second time; for now the
+so-called _Fidelio_ overture (E major) was composed. At its performance
+on the 23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the very first act,
+enthusiastically called for and enthusiastically greeted. The applause
+increased with every succeeding performance.
+
+Beethoven was now one of the best known characters in Vienna. He
+had, even before this, given several concerts of his own, and at
+several others music composed by him had been performed. His picture
+by Letronne appeared at this time. “It is as natural as life,” said
+Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the 26th of September, received with his
+music of the _Fidelio_, the assemblage of monarchs who had come to
+attend the Congress of Vienna; and what was more natural than that
+he should now greet them with something new in the nature of festal
+music? He did this with the cantata, _der Glorreiche Augenblick_
+(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production of it took place
+in the ever memorable Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814, when
+Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,” and what was more, before
+the educated of Europe, by the mere assistance of his art, helped
+celebrate the solemn moment which did away with oppression and tyranny
+and marked the beginning of a new and happier period. His audience
+was numbered by thousands, and “the respectful absence of all loud
+signs of applause gave the whole the character of worship. Every one
+seemed to feel that never again would there be such a moment in his
+life.” This extract is from Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places
+“the ecstasy of all present found expression in the loudest applause,
+applause which drowned the powerful accompaniment of the composer.” The
+_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony) as well as the seventh symphony,
+contributed to the achievement of this victory. After it was over, he
+wrote to the archduke: “I am still exhausted by fatigue, vexation,
+pleasure and joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering impression
+made on him by those days, we must refer to his diary of the following
+spring, when all that he had then experienced took a definite form in
+his feelings and consciousness. He then writes:
+
+  “May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May it be a sanctuary
+  of art.... Let me live, even if I have to have recourse to
+  ‘assistance,’ and such means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be
+  perfected if possible, and then travel! This you owe to man and the
+  Almighty. Only thus can you develop what is locked up within you.
+  The court of a prince, a little orchestra to write music for, and to
+  produce it, for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
+  Thus may my last years pass away, and to future humanity....”
+
+He breaks off here as if he did not need to express an opinion on what
+he aimed at achieving and left after him as an inheritance. But the
+reputation which he had acquired is correctly described as “one of
+the greatest ever won by a musician.” And now, more than ever before,
+he was the object of universal attention, especially at the brilliant
+entertainments given by the Russian ambassador, count Rasumowsky, to
+the monarchs present, on one of which occasions he was presented to
+them. The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a special “compliment.”
+She did so at the palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
+celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher. At a court concert on
+the 25th of January, 1815, he accompanied the _Adelaide_ for Florestan
+Wild himself; and Schindler closes his account of it with the words:
+“The great master recalled those days with much feeling, and with a
+certain pride once said that he had made the great pay their court to
+him, and that with them he had always preserved his dignity.” He thus
+verified what, as we saw alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
+them clearly understand what they possess in you.”
+
+The “assistance” he longed for came in the form of presents from
+monarchs, especially of the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of Russia,
+for whom he, at that time, wrote the polonaise, op. 89. These presents
+enabled him to make a permanent investment of twenty thousand marks,
+which his friends were very much surprised to find he owned, after
+his death. But, although by “decree” he drew yearly the sum of 2,700
+marks, his principal source of income continued to be derived from his
+intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved brother Karl died and left
+him, as an inheritance, so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
+after his father--the mother not being a fit person to take care of the
+child, and, besides, not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
+struggles for his “son,” _the unfortunate nephew_, with the mother,
+whom he was wont to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
+succeeding years of his life with legal controversies and negotiations
+to such an extent that they seem to have hindered him in his work.
+Extreme trouble of mind, brought about by the social and political
+degeneration of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon entirely
+obscured the lustre of the days we have just described; and it was
+only for short moments of time, as on the occasion of the celebrated
+concert of the year 1824, that we see his old pride and fame revive.
+The works performed at that concert were the _Missa Solemnis_ and the
+Ninth Symphony. The former was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
+Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a reflection of the soul of the
+artist himself as we have heard him describe it above. The symphony
+was written “for London;” whither in these saddening times his eyes
+were directed, and which, although he never undertook the contemplated
+journey thither, became the incentive to the composition of many
+important works.
+
+Among the works which date from 1814 and 1815, we may mention the
+sonata, op. 90, a “struggle between the head and the heart,” addressed
+in the summer of 1814 to Count Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his
+marriage to a Vienna singer; the song _Merkenstein_ (op. 100), composed
+in the winter of 1814; Tiedge’s _Hoffnung_ (op. 94), composed after
+the last court concert for the singer Wild; the chorus _Meeresstille
+und Glueckliche Fahrt_ (op. 112), which was written in 1815, and in
+1822, “most respectfully dedicated to the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the
+magnificent cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess Erdoedy, who
+became reconciled with him once more during this winter, after there
+had been a variance between them for a time. He calls the first of
+these sonatas the “free sonata,” and, indeed, freedom now became the
+characteristic of his higher artistic pictures. The _adagio_ of the
+second discloses to us, in the choral-like construction of its theme,
+the prevailing religious direction taken by his thoughts, which is also
+apparent in very many expressions and quotations to be found in his
+diary.
+
+We have already mentioned the _Liederkreis_, op. 98. Beethoven worked
+at it and at the sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter, an
+expression of the deepest poetry of the soul, was ready the following
+year, and was dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear Dorothea
+Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly understood the meaning of
+Beethoven’s music, became a real propagandist of his compositions for
+the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn could say that he had “learned much”
+from her deeply expressive execution. The noble lady had lost her only
+son during the absence of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
+and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition of mind bordering on
+melancholy, by coming to her and playing for her until she burst into
+tears. “The spell was broken.” “We finite creatures with an infinite
+mind are born only for suffering and for joy; and we might almost say
+that the best of human kind obtain joy only through their sorrow.”
+Thus spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and this little incident
+confirms its truth. His own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
+musical creations, and these creations were to him “the dearest gift of
+heaven,” and, as it were, a consolation from on high.
+
+But to continue our biography.
+
+When, after a violent contest with the mother, he was made sole
+guardian of his nephew, and could then call him his own, he seems, as a
+lady whose diary is embodied in the little book _Eine stille Liebe zu
+Beethoven_, informs us, to gain new life. He devoted himself heart and
+soul to the boy, and he wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
+care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow. We can readily understand
+how it came to pass that he now penned the words found by the lady
+just mentioned, in a memorandum book of his: “My heart overflows at
+the aspect of the beauties of nature--and this without her.” His
+“distant loved one” was still to him the most valued possession of his
+life--more to him, even, than himself.
+
+He had now in view several great projects--among them an opera,
+_Romulus_, by Treitschke, and an oratorio for the recently founded
+“Society of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna. The latter failed,
+through the niggardliness of the directors, and the former was not
+finished, although our artist never gave up the intention of completing
+it. In the autumn of 1816, an English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
+write a symphony, for two hundred ducats. But as the general wanted it
+written in the style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself refused to
+accept the commission. Yet this narrow English enthusiast had excited
+Beethoven’s imagination with glowing accounts of the harvest of profit
+he might reap in England, and as Beethoven had recently sold many
+of his works there, and as, besides, the new “Philharmonic Society”
+had handsomely remunerated him for these overtures, his intention
+of crossing the Channel began to assume a more definite form. His
+_Schlachtsymphonie_ (battle-symphony), especially, had already met
+with a very flattering reception in England. And a project was on foot
+in that country, even now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
+of his own works; and such a “benefit” was actually given for him
+there when he was on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it would
+flatter him to be able to write some new works, such as symphonies and
+an oratorio, for the Society which embraced a greater number of able
+musicians than almost any other in Europe.
+
+His diary covering this period to 1818, published in the work _Die
+Beethovenfeier und die deutsche Kunst_, because of the many items of
+interest it has in it, contains these characteristic lines: “Drop
+operas and everything else. Write only in your own style.” But even
+the sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark accompanying them:
+“2. Symphony in D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony in D
+minor--3. Symphony.” Belonging to the years succeeding 1812, we find
+drafts of the _scherzo_ of the Ninth Symphony. The headings above given
+undoubtedly had reference to this last, but the sketches of the first
+movement, decisive of the character of such a work, are not to be found
+until the year 1816, but then they are found with the physiognomy so
+masculine and so full of character which distinguishes this “symphony
+for London.” He once said of Englishmen that they were, for the most
+part, “clever fellows;” and he--of whom Zelter wrote to Goethe, that
+“he must have had a man for his mother”--felt that, in England, he,
+as a man, had to do with men, and, as an artist, to enter the list
+with Handel, whose own powerful influence was due to his decided
+manfulness of character. And then, had not England produced a tragic
+poet like Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all others? Deep,
+tragic earnestness, and a masculine struggle with fate, are here the
+fundamental tone and design of the whole. “And then a cowl when thou
+closest thy unhappy life”--such is the conclusion of the lines quoted
+above, in which he says that he must write “only in his own style.”
+
+And now, in July, 1817, came from London the “direct commission” he had
+so long endeavored to obtain. The Society desired to send him a proof
+of their esteem and gratitude for the many happy moments his works had
+given them to enjoy, and invited him to come to London to write two
+great symphonies, promising him an honorarium of three hundred pounds
+sterling. Beethoven immediately accepted the commission, and assured
+them that he would do his very best to execute it--honorable as it was
+to him, and coming as it did from so select a society of artists--in
+the worthiest manner possible. He promised to go to work immediately.
+“He believed that he could nowhere receive the distinction which his
+gigantic genius--in advance of his age by several centuries--deserved,
+as he could in Great Britain. The respect shown him by the English
+people, he valued more than that of all Europe besides. The feeling he
+had of his own powers may, indeed, have contributed to make him prefer
+the English nation to all others, especially as they showered so many
+marks of distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his most intimate
+friends in Vienna, Baron Von Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain
+it is that he did his very best on this work. It, as well as the
+symphony in C minor, is of the true Beethoven type--more so, perhaps,
+than any other of his works--the full picture of his own personal
+existence and of the tragedy of human life in general. This work was
+followed by the Tenth Symphony, the “poetical idea,” at least, of
+which we know. The first movement was intended to represent a “feast of
+Bacchus,” the _adagio_ a _cantique ecclesiastique_, a church hymn, and
+the _finale_ the reconciliation of the antique world, which he esteemed
+so highly with the spirit of Christianity, into the full depth of which
+he came to have a deeper insight every day that passed. We see that he
+had lofty plans, and that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights than
+he. We must bear these great plans and labors of Beethoven in mind if
+we would rightly understand his subsequent life--if we would comprehend
+how, in the desolate and distracted existence he was compelled
+henceforth to lead, he did not become a victim of torpidity, but that,
+on the contrary, the elasticity of his genius grew greater and greater,
+and that his creations gained both in depth and perfection.
+
+Thus do we see with our own eyes at least one of his works born of his
+own life.
+
+The songs _Ruf von Berge_ and _So oder so_, were composed in the winter
+of 1816-17; and in the following spring, after the sudden death of one
+of his friends, the chorus _Rasch tritt der Tod_, from Schiller’s
+Tell. “O God, help me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind. O hard
+fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no, my unhappy condition will never
+end. Thou hast no means of salvation but to leave here. Only by so
+doing canst thou rise to the height of thy art. Here thou art immersed
+in vulgarity. Only one symphony, and then away, away, away!” Thus
+does he write in his diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
+fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great sonata for the Hammer-clavier,
+op. 106. The _adagio_ of the latter is the musical expression of
+earnest prayer to God. Its first movement shows how he had soared
+once more to the heights of his art. “The sonata was written under
+vexatious circumstances,” he says to his friend Ries; and to a younger
+fellow-artist, the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go on. There is
+no calmer, more unalloyed or purer joy than that which arises from
+ascending higher and higher into the heaven of art.” Such, too, was
+his mood in those days when he promised his friend Zmeskall the trio
+for the piano in C minor, his op. 1, worked over into the quintet op.
+104; for he wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave, without
+music, every day.” In keeping with this is the song, _Lisch aus, mein
+Licht_, “Put out my light,” which also belongs to this period. The
+supplication: “O hear me always, Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
+unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all mortals,” found in his
+diary, belongs to this same time. It is now easy to see that he was in
+a very suitable frame of mind when he resolved, in 1818, to write a
+solemn mass for the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
+pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz. It was the “little court,” the “little
+orchestra” for which he wished to write the music “for the honor of
+the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of
+making him his _capellmeister_ there. After four years’ labor, the
+_Missa Solemnis_, op. 123, was finished. Beethoven called it “_l’œuvre
+le plus accompli_, my most finished work.” And, like the _Fidelio_, it
+is deserving of this characterization, but more on account of the pains
+taken with it and the labor expended on it than of its matter.
+
+“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social life to thy art. O, God
+above all! For Providence eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
+or unhappiness of mortal men.” With these words from the Odyssey, he
+resolved to consecrate himself to this great work. And it was a resolve
+in very deed. For, as in opera, he knew that he was here bound by
+traditionary forms--forms which, indeed, in some details afforded rich
+food to his own thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered the natural
+flow of his fancy. We now approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
+which he was strangely secluded from the world. The painter, Kloeber,
+the author of the best known portrait of Beethoven, and which is to
+be found in _Beethoven’s Brevier_--it was painted during the summer
+of 1818--once saw him throw himself under a fir tree and look for a
+longtime “up into the heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
+conversations--for it was now necessary for him to have recourse to
+putting his conversations on paper more frequently on account of his
+increasing deafness--he wrote in the winter of 1819-20: “Socrates and
+Jesus were patterns to me;” and after that: “The moral law within us
+and the starry heavens above us.--Kant!!!” Just as on the 4th of March,
+1820, he wrote:
+
+  “Ernte bald an Gottes Thron
+  Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”
+
+This was the time of the struggles with the mother of his “son” and of
+the heartfelt sorrow he had to endure on account of the moral ruin of
+the poor boy himself, who, always going from the one to the other, did
+not really know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore, deceived both.
+“From the heart--may it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these words
+on the score of the mass; and Schindler, who was now his companion,
+says that “the moment he began this work his whole nature seemed to
+change.” He would sit in the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
+to order his meals, and then want to pay for them. “Some say he is
+a fool,” wrote Zelter to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us “he
+actually seemed possessed in those days, especially when he wrote the
+fugue and the _Benedictus_.” That fugue, _Et vitam senturi_ (life
+everlasting!) is the climax of the work, since the depiction of the
+imperishableness and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s
+powerful mind was most used to. The wonderful _Benedictus_, (Blessed
+is he who cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones seem to float
+down from heaven to earth, the bestowal of help from on high, was
+subsequently the model used by Wagner for his descent of the Holy
+Grail, the symbol of divine grace, in the prelude to the _Lohengrin_.
+“When I recall his state of mental excitement, I must confess that I
+never before, and never after this period of his complete forgetfulness
+of earth, observed anything like it in him.” So says Schindler. They
+had gone to visit him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired in the
+interest of his health, and where he loved so well to “wander through
+the quiet forest of firs” and think out his works. It was four o’clock
+in the afternoon. The door was closed, and they could hear him
+“singing, howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they had listened to
+this “almost horrible” scene, the door opened, and Beethoven stood
+before them, with trouble depicted on his countenance. He looked as
+if he had just gone through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
+doings here; everybody is gone, and I have not eaten a morsel since
+yesterday noon,” he said. He had worked the previous evening until
+after midnight; and so the food had grown cold and the servants left in
+disgust.
+
+His work assumed greater and greater dimensions as he himself gradually
+rose to the full height of the subject. He no longer thought of
+completing it for the installation ceremonies. It became a grand fresco
+painting--a symphony in choruses on the words of the mass. He now
+began to work more calmly, and to compose at intervals other works,
+in order to quiet his over-excited mind and to earn a living for his
+“dear” nephew. And thus, while he was composing his mass, he produced
+not only the _Variirten Themen_, op. 105 and 107, which Thompson, of
+Edinburg--who had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs like op. 108 to be
+arranged--had ordered, but also the three _Last Sonatas_, op. 109,
+dedicated to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to whose excellent
+father he was indebted for ready assistance during these years of his
+pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which was finished at Christmas,
+1821, as op. 111 was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said that
+he entertained a higher opinion himself of these sonatas than of his
+previous ones. They are greatly superior, however, only in some of
+their movements; and they are written in the grand, free style of that
+period, especially the _arietta_ in the last opus, the variations of
+which are real pictures of his own soul. In the intervals between
+them, however, we find some trifles such as the _Bagatellen_, op. 119,
+which his pecuniary condition made it imperative he should compose,
+since, “as a brave knight by his sword, he had to live by his pen.”
+And even the “_33 Veraenderungen_” (variations), op. 120, on the works
+of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the intellectual play of
+the inexhaustible fancy of an artist than the work of the genuine
+gigantic creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly possessed. He had
+overtaxed his strength working on the mass, and thus exhausted it for
+a moment. The two chorus-songs, op. 121^b and op. 122, the _Opferlied_
+and _Bundeslied_, which date from the year 1822-23, bear the stamp of
+occasional compositions, which they, in fact, are.
+
+But in the meantime the lion had roused himself again. He now only
+needed to give the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the spring of
+1823 the entire work was completed. The summer of 1822 found him fully
+engaged on the composition of that monument to his genius, the Ninth
+Symphony. Freedom from the torment of exhausting labor, and the entire
+surrender of himself to “his own style,” gave his fancy back its old
+elasticity and all its productive power. Scarcely any year of his life
+was more prolific of works than this year 1822.
+
+“Our Beethoven seems again to take a greater interest in music, which,
+since the trouble with his hearing began to increase, he avoided almost
+as a woman-hater avoids the sex. To the great pleasure of all, he
+improvised a few tunes in a most masterly manner.” Thus do we read in
+the Leipzig _Musikzeitung_, in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
+John Russell, gives us a charming description of such an evening in
+the Cotta _Beethovenbuch_. Weisse’s droll poem, _Der Kuss_ (the kiss)
+op. 128, is found among the serious sketches of this year. And now he
+received a whole series of commissions. An English captain, named
+Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic
+poem worthy of his art, before he “hung up his harp forever.” Others
+asked for other kinds of music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
+Johann, “people are fighting to get works from me, happy, unhappy
+man that I am. If my health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
+my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him, too, a commission from
+Breitkopf and Haertel to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives us a
+very interesting account of Beethoven’s appearance and whole mode of
+life at this time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage exterior,
+he says, not his bushy black hair, which hung bristling about his head,
+would have stirred him; what stirred him was the whole appearance of
+the deaf man who, notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to the
+hearts of millions--pure, intellectual joy. But when he received the
+commission, he raised his hand high up and exclaimed: “That might be
+worth while. But I have been intending for some time to write three
+other great works--two great symphonies, very different from each
+other, and an oratorio. I shudder at the thought of beginning works of
+such magnitude. But once engaged on them, I shall find no difficulty.”
+He spoke of the Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun to give the
+finishing touches, in all earnestness.
+
+This was interrupted for a short time by the overture, _Zur Weihe des
+Hauses_ (op. 124), for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt theater
+with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812. It is the portal to the temple
+in which art is praised as something consecrated to the service of
+mankind--as a thing which may lift us for blissful moments into the
+region of the purifying and elevating influences of higher powers.
+Even in this work, which dates from September, 1822, we may hear the
+solemn sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony. And, indeed, after a
+memorandum on the “Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches of it the
+words, “Finale, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_,” together with the
+wonderfully simple melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s better
+self like the music of its own redemption. Beethoven’s own nature was
+deeply moved at this time. Weber’s _Freischuetz_, with Wilhelmine
+Schroeder, afterwards so celebrated, had excited the greatest
+enthusiasm. Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like an opeotheosis;”
+and Beethoven was determined to let the light of his genius shine
+forth, which he could do only by writing a work “in his own style.”
+The world was “his for another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
+that evening to account. And, indeed, had he not a world of sorrows
+to paint--sorrows which actual life had brought to him? He had also a
+world of joys--joys vouchsafed to him by his surrendering of himself to
+a higher life.
+
+An incident which occurred during this fall of 1822 tells us
+something of this gloomy night of his personal existence. Young
+Schroeder-Devrient, encouraged by her success with _Pamina_ and
+_Agathe_, had chosen the _Fidelio_ for her benefit, and Beethoven
+himself was to wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even during
+the first scene of the opera, everything was in confusion, but that
+no one cared to utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible for you,
+unfortunate man.” Schindler finally, in response to Beethoven’s
+own questioning, wrote something to that effect down. In a trice,
+Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying only: “Quick, out of here!”
+He ran without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself on the sofa,
+covered his face with his two hands, and remained in that position
+until called to table. But, even at table, he did not utter a word. He
+sat at it, the picture of the deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account
+of the incident closes thus: “In all my experience with Beethoven,
+this November day is without a parallel. It mattered not what
+disappointments or crosses misfortune brought him, he was ill-humored
+only for moments, sometimes depressed. He would, however, soon be
+himself again, lift his head proudly, walk about with a firm step, and
+rule in the workshop of his genius. But he never fully recovered from
+the effect of this blow.”
+
+The performance itself brought out, for the first time, in all its
+completeness, musico-dramatic art, in the representation of the scene,
+“Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner, who has so highly developed this
+musico-dramatic art, admits that he acquired the real idea of plastic
+shaping for the stage from Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
+owed it that he was invited, during the same winter (1822-23), to
+compose a new opera. It was Grillparzer’s _Melusine_, but the intention
+to compose it was never carried into effect.
+
+We have now reached the zenith of the life of Beethoven as an artist.
+Besides the Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five last quartets
+which beam in their numerous movements like “the choir of stars about
+the sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition of these last came
+to him just at this time from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
+him a commission to write them, telling him at the same time to ask
+what remuneration he wished for his work. But the Symphony filled up
+the next following year, 1823. Nothing else, except the “fragmentary
+ideas” of the _Bagatellen_, op. 126, engaged him during that time.
+
+“To give artistic form only to what we wish and feel, that most
+essential want of the nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself to
+the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes this mighty symphony, and
+constitutes, so to speak, the sum and substance of his own life and
+intuition. This symphony was soon connected in popular imagination with
+Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic course of human existence.
+
+And when we hear in mind how closely related just here the musician was
+to the poet, this interpretation of the work, given first by Richard
+Wagner on the occasion of its presentation in 1846 in Dresden, seems
+entirely warranted. What was there of which life had not deprived him?
+The words it had always addressed to him were these words from Faust:
+_Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren_ (renounce thou must, thou must
+renounce). He now wished to paint a full picture of this vain struggle
+with relentless fate in tones, and what he had just gone through in
+his own experience enabled him to do it in living colors. All the
+recollections of his youth crowded upon him. There were the “pretty
+lively blonde” whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta, who had a
+short time before returned to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
+loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through the lovely Heiligenstadt
+valley, in the spring of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures of
+the reconciling power of nature, as well as of the _Pastorale_ and
+the C minor symphony. He was now able to form an idea of their common
+meaning, and to put an interpretation on them very different from his
+first idea and first interpretation of them. He began to have a much
+deeper insight into the ultimate questions and enigmas of existence.
+
+But, all of a sudden, his humor left him. He refused to receive any
+visitors. “Samothracians, come not here; bring no one to me,” he wrote
+to Schindler, from the scene of his quiet life in the country. What
+had never happened before, even when he was in the highest stages of
+intellectual exaltation, now came to pass: he repeatedly returned from
+his wanderings through the woods and fields without his hat. “There is
+nothing higher than to approach nearer to the Deity than other men, and
+from such proximity to spread the rays of the Deity among the human
+race.” In these words, directed to the Archduke Rudolph, he summed
+up his views of his art and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
+was everything to him--a language, consolation, admonition, light and
+prophecy.
+
+This we learn most clearly from the Ninth Symphony, which he finished
+at this time, in Baden.
+
+From the dark abyss of nothing arises the Will, infinite Will: and with
+it the struggles and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer personal
+sorrow--for what is personal sorrow compared with the sorrow of the
+world as known to a great mind, experienced by a great heart?--it
+is the struggle for a higher existence which we “mortals have to
+engage in against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time did I curse my
+Creator because he has made his creatures the victims of the merest
+accidents.” Cries of anguish and anger like this--the cries of great
+souls whose broad vision is narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
+will is hampered--find utterance here. “I shall take fate by the
+jaws,” he says again, and how immense is the struggle as well as the
+consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession, which lives as a
+promise in the breasts of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
+such despair; and then, again, such strength and courage after trial,
+had never before been expressed in music. In the Ninth Symphony, we
+hear the voices of the powers which through all ages have been the
+makers of history; of the powers which preserve and renovate the life
+of humanity; and so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
+effort and concentration of self, stands firmly before us, bold and
+clear-eyed--for Will is the world itself.
+
+But when we see the man Beethoven, we find him divided against himself.
+We have often heard him say that he found the world detestable; and
+we shall again hear him express his opinion on that subject plainly
+enough, in this his work.
+
+In the second movement, which he himself calls only _allegro vivace_,
+and which, indeed, is no _scherzo_, not even a Beethoven-like one, but
+rather a painting, we have a dramatic picture of the earthly world
+in the whirl of its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of mere
+existence--such as he himself frequently experienced in such fullness
+that he leaped over chairs and tables--to the raging, uncontrollable
+Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment. But we have in it also a fresco
+painting of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in the existing, of
+exultation and jubilation as well as of the demoniacal in sensuous
+life and pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction this splendid
+symphony affords to a noble mind! It carries such a man from the arms
+of pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature, from appearance to
+reality.
+
+This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime order of the world, which
+calms our minds and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
+is heard in the _adagio_ of the work. And when, in an incomparably
+poetical union to the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
+ordered course of things, the longing, perturbed human heart is
+contrasted by a second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty never
+before imagined, we at last see the soul, so to speak, disappear
+entirely before itself, dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
+steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the final chords, sound like
+the death knell of the human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
+in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to naught.
+
+But the world is man, is the heart, and wants to live, to live! And
+so here the final echo is still the longing, sounding tones of human
+feeling.
+
+Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the development of this powerful
+tragedy, and thus confirms the explanation of it we have given, as
+well as the persistence of ultimate truth in his own heart; for in
+it we find--after the almost raging cry of all earthly existence in
+the orchestral storm of the beginning of the _finale_, which was even
+then called a “feast of scorn at all that is styled human joy”--in the
+sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives of the contra-bassos:
+“No, this confusion reminds us of our despairing condition. This is a
+magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with song.” And then follows the
+theme of the first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is something
+else that I am craving.” “The will and consciousness of man are at
+variance the one with the other, and the cause of man’s despairing
+situation.” Next comes the _motive_ for the _scherzo_: “Nor is it
+this thing either; it is but merriness and small talk”--the trifles
+of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of the _adagio_: “Nor
+is it this thing either,” and thereupon the words: “I myself shall
+sing--music must console us, music must cheer us;” and then the
+melody, _Freude schoener Goetterfunken_, is heard, expressive of the
+newly-won peace of the soul, descriptive of human character in the
+full beauty of its simplicity and innocence restored. Beethoven knew
+from what depths of human nature music was born, and what its ultimate
+meaning to mankind is.
+
+We are made to experience this more fully still by the continuation
+of the _finale_ which represents the solution of the conflict of this
+tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here sung plainly springs from
+its only pure and lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
+love--that feeling which, as religion, fills the heart. The _Ihr
+stuerzt nieder, Millionen_ is the foundation, the germ (to express
+it in the language of music of double counterpoint) of the _Seid
+umschlungen, Millionen_, and then the whole sings of joy as the
+transfiguration of the earthly world by eternal love. The will can
+accomplish nothing greater than to sacrifice itself for the good of the
+whole. To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful phenomenon
+in the world was not the conqueror but the overcomer of the world; and
+he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.
+
+This is celebrated by the _finale_ as the last consequence of the
+“struggle with fate,” of man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
+to say that out of the spirit of this music a “new civilization” and
+an existence more worthy of human beings might be developed, since it
+leads us back to the foundation and source of civilization and human
+existence--to religion? Beethoven was one of those great minds who have
+added to the intellectual possessions of our race in regions which
+extend far beyond the merely beautiful in art. When we bear this in
+mind, we can understand why he wanted to write a tenth symphony as
+the counterpart and final representation of these highest conceptions
+of the nature and goal of our race. This tenth symphony he intended
+should transfigure the merely humanly beautiful of the antique world
+in the light of the refined humanity of modern ideas--the earthly in
+the light of the heavenly. And we may understand, too, what we are told
+of himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed in his countenance,
+it shed about him all the charms of childlike innocence. “When he
+smiled,” we are told, “people believed not only in him, but in
+humanity.” Occasionally there would blossom on his lips a smile which
+those who saw could find no other word to describe but “heavenly.” So
+full was his heart of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.
+
+We shall see how the last quartets, which follow now, represent
+this, his sublime transfigured condition of soul, in the most varied
+pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.
+
+Of works composed during this period, we may mention: March to
+“Tarpeja” and the _Bardengeist_ composed in 1813; _Gute Nachricht_,
+_Elegischer Gesang_, _Kriegers Abschied_, composed in 1814; Duos
+for the clarionette and bassoon, which appeared in 1815; _Es ist
+vollbracht_, _Sehnsucht_, Scotch songs, composed in 1815; _Der Mann
+von Wort_, op. 99. _Militaermarsch_, composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
+(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; _Clavierstueck_ in B, composed
+in 1818; _Gratulations-menuet_, composed in 1822. It will be noticed
+that the number of his works grows steadily smaller according as their
+volume or their depth of meaning grows greater. This last will be
+evident especially from his subsequent quartets which, so to speak,
+stand entirely alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+1824-27.
+
+THE LAST QUARTETS.
+
+  Berlioz on the Lot of Artists--Beethoven Misunderstood--The Great
+    Concert of May, 1824--Preparation for It--Small Returns--Beethoven
+    Appreciated--First Performance of the Missa Solemnis and of the
+    Ninth Symphony--The Quartets--An “Oratorio for Boston”--Overture
+    on B-A-C-H--Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works--His
+    Brother Johann--Postponement of His Journey to London--Presentiment
+    of Death--The Restoration of Metternich and Gentz--His
+    “Son”--Troubles with the Young Man--Debility--Calls for Dr.
+    Malfatti--Poverty--The “Magnanimous” English--Calls a Clergyman--His
+    Death.
+
+
+“Noble souls fall usually only because they do not know the mournful
+but incontestable truth that, considering our present customs and
+political institutions, the artist has more to suffer in proportion as
+he is a genuine artist. The more original and gigantic his works are,
+the more severely is he punished for the effects they produce. The
+swifter and sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish from the
+dim vision of the multitude.” Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor
+in art, Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his days; and to whom
+can what he says here be applied with more propriety than to our
+artist, especially at this period of his life, when his thoughts
+took their sublimest flight? His action now seemed indeed to assure
+him unconditional victory, even in his immediate environment--we are
+approaching the celebrated concert of May, 1824--but how soon shall
+we see him again misunderstood by the crowd and, as a consequence,
+lonelier than ever before.
+
+He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher life which art and
+science imply, and which they give it to us to hope for;” and he,
+in consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of himself; so that
+his brother found it necessary to say to him: “You must buy yourself
+a new hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your expense because
+you have so bad a hat.” But now that the “colossal creation” was
+finished, even to the last iota, he began to be in better humor, to
+stroll about the streets gazing at the show-windows, and to salute
+many an old friend, as, for instance, his former teacher, Schenk,
+more warmly. His name was now more frequently on the lips of friends,
+and when it was known that a great symphony, as well as the Mass, was
+finished, people recalled the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
+and a letter signed by men of the higher classes of society--men whom
+Beethoven himself loved and honored--invited him, in February, 1824, to
+abstain no longer from the performance of something great. And, indeed,
+the Italian _roulade_ and all kinds of purely external _bravoura_
+had obtained supremacy in Vienna. The “second childhood of taste”
+threatened to follow the “golden age of art.” It was hoped that home
+art would receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his own sphere, had
+no equal, and that, thanks to his influence, the true and the beautiful
+would rule supreme again.
+
+Schindler found him with the manuscript in his hand. “It is very
+pretty! I am glad!” Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
+another hope was bound up with this. He hoped to obtain compensation
+for his long labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce something new
+worthy of his genius. The preparation for the concert was attended
+by very much that was disagreeable. His own want of resolution and
+suspicious manner contributed their share to this. With the most
+splenetic humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation, I am boiled,
+stewed, roasted.” And when several of his more intimate friends, like
+Count Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted to a little
+subterfuge to make him come to some resolve, he said: “I despise
+deceit. Visit me no more. And let him visit me no more. I’m not
+giving a party.” But, on the other hand, the first violinists of the
+city--Schuppanzigh, Mayseder and Boehm, who is still living--together
+with _capellmeister_ Umlauf, were at the head of the orchestra,
+while a large number of amateurs were ready to lend their assistance
+at a moment’s notice. Their motto was: “Anything and everything
+for Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for the performance of
+Beethoven’s great creations were begun.
+
+“Just as if there were words beneath them?” asked Schindler, speaking
+of the powerful recitatives of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
+Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both subsequently so celebrated,
+found it exceedingly difficult to execute the solos in the Mass and
+the _finale_; but to all prayers that they might be changed, Beethoven
+had only one answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally replied: “Well,
+in God’s name, let us torment ourselves a little longer, take a little
+more trouble, and attempt it.” The performance was to occur on the 7th
+of May. That “rare, noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
+“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a single note. Frau
+von Ertmann was again in Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
+many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven personally invited the
+court. His trusted servant, who was specially helpful to him on this
+occasion, said to him: “We shall take your green coat with us, too;
+the theater is dark; no one can see us. O my great master, not a black
+dress coat have you in your possession.” The house was crowded to
+over-fullness. Only the court box was almost empty, on account of the
+Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s attendant again tells us: “His reception
+was more than imperial; at the fourth round of applause, the people
+became vociferous.” And Boehm tells us how the tears rushed into his
+own and Mayseder’s eyes at the very beginning. And what a success the
+performance was!
+
+In one of the accounts of it that have come down to us, we read: “Never
+in my life did I hear such tempestuous and at the same time such
+hearty applause. At one place--where the kettle-drums so boldly take
+up the rhythmic _motive_ alone--the second movement of the symphony
+was totally interrupted by the applause; the tears stood in the eyes
+of the performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to wield the baton
+until Umlauf called his attention to the action of the audience by a
+motion of his hand. He looked at them and bowed in a very composed
+way.” At the close the applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
+say, the man who was the cause of it all again turned his back to the
+enthusiastic audience. At this juncture, the happy thought occurred to
+Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards the audience, and to ask him to
+notice their applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs. He
+testified his gratitude simply by bowing, and this was the signal for
+the breaking forth of a jubilation such as had scarcely ever before
+been heard in a theater, and which it seemed would never end. The next
+day, we read, in his conversation leaves, what some one said to him:
+“Everybody is shattered and crushed by the magnitude of your works.”
+
+And now, what of the pecuniary success of the performance? It was
+measured by about one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses attending
+it had been too great. Besides, regular subscribers, entitled to their
+seats in boxes, did not pay a farthing for this concert. The court did
+not send in a penny, which, however, they were wont not to fail to do
+on the occasion of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven reached his
+home, Schindler handed him the account of the receipts. “When he saw
+it, he broke down entirely. We took him and laid him on the sofa. We
+remained at his side until late in the night. He asked neither for food
+nor for anything else. Not an audible word did he utter. At last, when
+we observed that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we retired. His
+servant found him next morning in his concert toilette (his green dress
+coat) in the same place, asleep.” This account is by Schindler, who,
+together with the young official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
+Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him home on this occasion.
+
+This was the first performance of the _Missa Solemnis_ (op. 123) and of
+the Ninth Symphony (op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May, 1824.
+The fact that when the performance was repeated on the 24th of May,
+spite of the additional attraction of the “adored” tenor, David, who
+sang Rossini’s _Di tanti palpiti_, (after so much pain), the house
+was half empty, shows that, after all, it was more curiosity to see
+the celebrated deaf man than real taste for art which had filled it
+the first time. Like Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
+pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius. Not till 1845 did the
+magnanimous liberality of one who was really permeated by his spirit
+bring it to pass that a monument was erected to him in his native city,
+Bonn, as that same liberality has brought it to pass that one has been
+erected to him, in our own day, in his second home, Vienna. We have
+reference to the royal gift and to the equally rich playing of Franz
+Liszt.
+
+It now became more imperative for him to give his attention to those
+compositions which promised him some immediate return, to the quartets,
+to write which he had received a commission from persons as noted for
+their generosity to him as for their love of art. These and the op. 127
+occupy the first place in this brilliant constellation of art. “I am
+not writing what I should prefer to write. I am writing for the money
+I need. When that end is satisfied, I hope to write what is of most
+importance to myself and to art--Faust.” He thus expressed himself
+when engaged in the composition of the Ninth Symphony, and there was
+some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for Boston.” And so, likewise,
+the German Melusine and an opera for Naples, the Requiem, the tenth
+symphony, and an overture on B-A-C-H remained projects and no more. But
+they were also a great prospect for the future while he was engaged in
+the labors of the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable influence
+on the composition of the quartets themselves. The more he became
+interested in these works--and what works were better calculated to
+interest a composer of such poetic power--the more did these ideas
+become interwoven into the works themselves. They generated the
+peculiarly grand style and the monumental character which distinguish
+these last quartets. The soul-pictures from Faust especially are here
+eloquently re-echoed in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed, the
+Prince, who had given him the commission to write them, seemed to be
+the very man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was highest and best
+in art, even in such a narrow sphere. For he had so arranged it that,
+even before its production in Vienna, that “sublime masterpiece,” the
+Mass, was publicly performed. He informs us that the effect on the
+public was indescribable; that he had never before heard anything, not
+even of Mozart’s music, which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
+genius was centuries in advance of his age, and that probably there
+was not among his hearers a single one enlightened enough to take in
+the full beauty of his music. On the other hand, there reigned in
+Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the restoration, with its
+idol Rossini, a revelry which had driven all noble and serious music
+into the background. Besides, the Prince had ordered that the costs for
+musical composition should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”
+
+Beethoven now went to work in earnest, and this composition was
+destined to be his last.
+
+He had already made a great many drafts of the works above mentioned,
+one for op. 127 in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding quartet
+in A minor (op. 131), in the year 1823, when he was completing the
+Ninth Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet in A minor remind us, in
+more ways than one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony--the latter by
+its passion so full of pain, the former, with its _adagio_, where the
+longing glances to the stars have generated a wonderful, melancholy
+peace of soul. The immediately following third quartet (op. 130) stands
+out before us like a newly created world, but one which is “not of this
+world.” And, indeed, the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
+more and more to liberate him, heart and soul, from this world, and
+the whole composition of the quartets appears like a preparation for
+the moment when the mind, released from existence here, feels united
+with a higher being. But it is not a painfully happy longing for death
+that here finds expression. It is the heartfelt, certain and joyful
+feeling of something really eternal and holy that speaks to us in the
+language of a new dispensation. And even the pictures of the world
+here to be found, be they serious or gay, have this transfigured
+light--this outlook into eternity. There is little in the world of art,
+in which the nature of the religious appears so fully in its substance
+and essence without showing itself at any time otherwise than purely
+human, and therefore imperishable--never clothed in an accidental and
+perishable garb. This explains how a people not noted for any musical
+genius, but who are able to understand the spirit and meaning of music,
+the English, whom Beethoven himself esteemed so highly, considered
+his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his music is religious in its
+ultimate meaning and spirit. This character of his music finds its
+purest and most striking expression in the last quartets; and these
+quartets enable us to understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
+Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that our civilization might
+receive a new soul from the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
+religion which might permeate it through and through.
+
+We now pass to an account of the details of the origin of these works.
+
+The bitterness which Beethoven was destined henceforth to taste
+proceeded for the most part from his own relatives. “God is my witness,
+my only dream is to get away entirely from you, from my miserable
+brother, and from this despicable family which has been tied to me,”
+he writes, in 1825, to his growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
+touching on these sad things, because now, especially, they exercised
+the greatest influence on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
+and because they finally led to a catastrophe which played a part in
+bringing about his premature death.
+
+His weak and “somewhat money-loving” brother, Johann, had, indeed, in
+consequence of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference, married a
+silly wife. He found it impossible to control her course, or even
+to get a divorce from her, because he had made over to her a part of
+his property, and was “inflexible” on this very point. And so the
+brother was not able, spite of many invitations, to induce Beethoven
+to visit him even once on his estate of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf,
+on the Danube. Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of 1823: “O accursed
+shame! Have you not a spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself by
+entering such company?” Yet, his sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees.
+But the mother of the boy continued, now that he was beginning to
+mature, to draw him into her own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven
+wrote in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous breath of the dragon;
+and levity, falsehood and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle, who
+was at the same time a father to him, followed. Carried away by the
+impulses of his moral feelings, the latter was severe even to harshness
+with the boy, and yet could not dispense with the young man’s company
+because of his increasing age and isolation. The natural craving for
+love, moral severity and the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the
+texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.
+
+The correspondence of this year, 1824, turns principally upon the
+pecuniary realization from his new, great works; for he wanted to be in
+London in the fall without fail. We have also a letter of his about his
+will, to his lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He writes: “Only in
+divine art is the power which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
+heavenly muses the best part of my life.” We hear also the celestial
+sounds of the _adagio_, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was himself
+filled with this true “manna;” for he exclaims in these same summer
+days, “Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me to be delivered over
+to the hands of death, for I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
+with and commands me to finish. I feel as if I had written scarcely a
+note.” And we even now find the sketches of those pieces expressive
+of a happiness more than earthly, or else, in gay irony, of contempt
+for the existing world, or of the mighty building up of a new world;
+the _alla danza tedesca_ and the _poco scherzando_ of op. 130, as well
+as the great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to be the original
+_finale_ of op. 130, and which, by its superscription, “overture”
+and the gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of the plan of the
+_Bachouverture_. Even the unspeakably deep melancholy and, at the same
+time, blissful, hopeful _cavatina_ of the same third quartet op. 130,
+blossoms forth now from the feeling of his heart, which has taken into
+itself the full meaning of the eternal, and is filled with a higher
+joy. We here find, as in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs of
+a new and deep-felt language of the heart, a real personal language,
+acquired to humanity for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
+which, in our own day, has led to the most touching soul-pictures in
+art--to the transfiguration of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying song
+of redeeming love.
+
+A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The desolate horrors that
+surround him endow him with the power to understand more clearly the
+higher tasks of the mind in which his art had a living part. We see
+plainly that his nature tends more and more towards the one thing
+necessary--“All love is sympathy,” sympathy with the sorrows of the
+world, says the philosopher. And so while his vision takes an immense
+sweep over the field of existence, we see that an inexhaustible source
+of patient goodness and of the kindest and most heartfelt love, springs
+up within him. “From childhood up it was my greatest happiness to be
+able to work for others,” he once said; and again when the overture,
+op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much praised on this account, etc.
+But what is that all to the great Master of Tones above--above--above!
+rightly the Most High, when here below it is used only for purposes
+of ridicule. Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen to the sublime irony
+of his tones in op. 130, but also to the lustrous mildness of the
+_adagio_ of op. 127, in which in the little movement in E major, the
+human soul itself, filled with the spirit of the Eternal, so to speak,
+opens its eyes and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all that is, that
+was and that will be. No mortal man has lifted my veil. He comes from
+Himself alone, and to this Only One all things owe their existence.”
+Beethoven wrote out this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824, framed
+it and placed it on his writing table before him. He well knew what
+the really creative and preserving deity in human life is. That deity
+lived in his own most heartfelt thought and feeling. It was to him a
+continual source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To it he was indebted
+for the poetic creations which sprung unbidden from his brain.
+
+The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to the spring and summer of
+1825. His journey to London had been postponed. Schindler gives as the
+reason of this, the “bad behavior of his dearly beloved nephew, which
+had become somewhat notorious.” How could his “son” be abandoned,
+thus unguarded, to “the poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
+invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony was again taken in hand, and
+from the sketches of it now made, we know all that is certain about
+it. It was intended to do no less than to add the “beautiful to the
+good,” to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty of the antique,
+or rather to transfigure the mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
+light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed, a picture of this kind,
+a direct, intentional, higher picture of the world in the _adagio,
+in modo lidico_, in the second quartet. It is called the “Song of
+Thanksgiving of a Convalescent to the Deity,” and is a choral between
+the repetitions of which, ever richer and more heartfelt, the joyful
+pulsations of new life are expressed. Beethoven had been seriously
+sick during this spring. His affection for his nephew had assumed, in
+consequence of one continual irritation of his feelings, the nature
+of a passion which tormented the boy to death, but which, like every
+passion, brought no happiness to Beethoven himself. The first movement
+of this quartet in A minor is a psychological picture--a poem of the
+passions--the consuming character of which can be explained only by
+this very condition of the artist’s own soul. And how Beethoven’s
+creations always came from his own great soul, that soul so fully
+capable of every shade of feeling and excitement! The account left us
+by the young poet, Rellstab, written in the spring of 1825, gives us
+a perfect description of the state Beethoven was in at this time. He
+describes him “a man with a kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
+Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness of this description.
+“In what part of me am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to his
+nephew, whose frivolity had already begun to bear evil fruit. On
+another occasion he said: “O, trouble me no more. The man with the
+scythe will not respite me much longer.”
+
+Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps because of this extreme
+excitement of his whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very rich
+in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,” he had to write the
+quartet in C sharp minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
+130). The last quartet also, that in F major, had its origin in that
+“inexhaustible fancy”--a fancy which always tended to the production
+of such works. Hence it is that the number of movements increases. The
+second has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the fourth (C sharp
+minor), seven--as if the old form of the suite, or the _divertimento_
+of the septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s comparison immediately
+shows the presence of the old organic articulation of the form of
+the sonata. These movements are in fact only transitions to, and
+connecting links between, two colossal movements. They increase the
+usual number of movements, although frequently nothing more than short
+sentences, and at times only a few measures. But the introductory
+movement and the _finale_ in the quartet in A minor loom up like the
+pillars of Hercules, and determine the impassioned character and the
+dramatic style of the whole. Beethoven himself called it a piece of
+art worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130, when the great
+fugue, op. 133, is considered a part of it, which in our day it should
+always be conceded to be. And how immensely great is this spirit when,
+in the quartet in C sharp minor, it awakes from the most profound
+contemplation of self to the contemplation of the world and its
+pain.--“Through sorrow, joy!”
+
+We must refer the reader to the third volume of _Beethoven’s Leben_,
+published in Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the desolation
+of our artist, produced by the narrow circle with which the restoration
+of Metternich and Gentz surrounded him, at a time when his own mind and
+feeling were expanding to greater dimensions than ever before. To the
+same source we must send him for a description of the full earnestness
+and greatness of this last period in the life of our artist. In that
+work was for the first time presented to the public, from original
+sources, and especially from the records of Beethoven’s written
+conversations, extant in the Berlin library, the comfortless--but
+at the same time, and spite of continual torment, intellectually
+exalted--picture of his character. “Words are interdicted. It is a
+fortunate thing that tones are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the
+poet of the oratorio, _Saul and David_, to him at this time--a work
+in which he wished to give expression both to his own relation as a
+human being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working nature of his
+art. The execution of this plan was prevented only by death. The
+general demoralization which had invaded Vienna with the Congress
+made its effects felt directly in his own circle, through the agency
+of his nephew, and thus paved the way for disaster to himself. “Our
+age has need of vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
+miserable wretches,” he cries out at this very time to his nephew,
+who had permitted himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated
+to irritate, at the expense of a genuine _faijak_--as Beethoven was
+wont now to call the good Viennese--the music-dealer Haslinger; and
+the matter had become public. But he adds to the above: “Much as my
+heart resists causing pain to a single human being.” And, indeed, his
+heart knew nothing of such anger or vengeance. It was always a real
+sympathizer with the sorrows born of human weakness--a sorrow which
+with him swelled to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself. To
+this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is indebted for its series
+of pictures, in which we see the world created, as it were, anew
+with a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy, humorous,
+cheerful coloring of the several pieces--pieces which, indeed, are
+no mere sonata movements, but full pictures of life and of the soul.
+The _cavatina_ overtops it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
+admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from him “fresh tears.”
+
+“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he implores his “son.” Speaking of
+the rabble of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer the whole week
+like a saint;” and, on another occasion, still more painfully: “May
+God be with, thee and me. It will be all over soon with thy faithful
+father.” His days, so strangely divided between the loftiest visions of
+the spirit and the meanest troubles of life, henceforth render him more
+and more indifferent to the latter. We find persons invade his circle
+whom otherwise he would never have permanently endured about him, and
+who frequently led him into minor sorts of dissipation even in public
+places. This reacted on the nephew, whose respect for the character of
+his “great uncle” could not long stand a course of action apparently
+like his own. But even now we see a picture in tones of which one of
+the _faijaks_, the government officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied
+it, writes to Beethoven himself: “When one can survey it thus calmly,
+new worlds come into being.” We have reference to the quartet in C
+sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look beaming with light, dripping with
+sorrow and joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this time in beautiful
+Baden, and, indeed, this work, which he himself called the “greatest”
+of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different from the
+Ninth Symphony, the meaning of his own life, which he here himself, as
+Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a wild melody of pleasure
+and pain. But we now recognize more clearly that something “like a
+vulture is devouring his heart.” We, indeed, are drawing near to the
+catastrophe which led to his premature end.
+
+As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed “stormy scenes.”
+An uncontrollable love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
+the streets had led the young man into worse and worse courses,
+to falsehood and embezzlement. And when these were discovered, he
+secretly ran away from home. It was not long, however, before the
+loving weakness of his uncle called him back. The only effect of this
+was henceforth to condemn Beethoven himself to a slavish, too slavish
+life, one which would have been a torment even to an ordinary mortal,
+but which must have been doubly so to a passionate, great man who was
+deaf. The nephew found fault with his uncle, with his “reproaches”
+and “rows.” He accused him even of having led him into had company.
+He dreaded other reproaches still and was afraid of even personal
+violence. At last, one day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
+the frightful news that his son had left his dwelling with a pair of
+pistols, and intended to take his own life. A long and terrible morning
+was spent searching for the unfortunate youth, who was finally led
+home, with a wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done now. Torment me
+no longer with reproofs and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
+and feeling may be inferred from the words found in his conversation
+leaves: “I have grown worse, because my uncle wanted to make me
+better;” and from these others: “He said it was not hatred, but a very
+different feeling, that moved him against you.”
+
+The uncle, alas! understood these expressions better than those
+about him. These had only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
+“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly to be seen in his bent
+attitude. The man, firm and upright in all the movements of his body,
+was gone. A person of about seventy was before us--yielding, without a
+will, the sport of every breath of air.” So wrote Schindler. Beethoven
+called for the Bible “in the real language into which Luther had
+translated it.” A few days later, we find in his conversations the
+following memorandum: “On the death of Beethoven.” Did he mean his own
+death, or the death of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to speak,
+lost his own life? Be this as it may, he now sang the deepest song of
+his soul, and it was destined to be his dying song. We refer to the
+_adagio_ in the last quartet, op. 135. His harp soon after this grew
+silent, and forever. Henceforth we have only projects or fragments of
+works. But he touched it once more, like King Gunther in the Edda,
+“seated among serpents,” the most venomous of which--the pangs of his
+own conscience--menaced him with death. Among the pictures in which he
+paints the meaning of a theme similar to that of this _adagio_ (pieces
+thus independent of one another cannot rightly be called variations),
+there is one whose minor key and rhythm show it to be a funeral
+ceremony of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt he may have incurred
+he atoned for in his heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
+His soul is free. This the theme itself tells us, eloquently and
+distinctly. Here the soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
+own primeval source, and towards the close plumes its wing for a happy,
+lofty flight, to regions it has longed to enter. The other pictures
+show us this full, certain and joyful possession of one’s self, and the
+last even seems to resolve the soul into its faculties when it floats
+about the Eternal Being in the most blissful happiness--a vision and
+condition which, of all the means of expression of the intellect, only
+music is able to describe, and which proves to us that, in the case of
+our artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.
+
+And thus it comes that a movement with which there is none to be
+compared, one which to our feelings is the richest and most perfect
+of all movements, and, at the same time, of the most brilliant
+transparency, made its way into a work which otherwise shows no trace
+of the magnitude of this his last effort. For the _finale_ is only a
+sham-play of those magic powers which our master so well knew how to
+conjure up, both in sublime horror and in saving joy.
+
+But his physical condition was soon destined to be in keeping with
+the condition of his soul above described. When, indeed, Karl was
+convalescing as well as could be desired, and he had decided to follow
+the military calling, Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally at
+least, he again looked fresh and cheerful. “He knew,” says Schindler,
+“how to rise superior to his fate, and his whole character bore an
+‘antique dignity.’” But even now he told the old friend of his youth,
+Wegeler, that he intended “to produce only a few more great works,
+and then, like an old child, to close his earthly career somewhere
+among good men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature seemed shattered.
+“What dost thou want? Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the truest
+resignation sufficient for thee, even if thou art in want?” This one
+conversation with Karl tells us everything.
+
+Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared. A single blow, and his
+powerful, manly form was shattered like that of the meanest of mortals.
+And, indeed, that blow was struck with almost unexpected violence.
+
+After his recovery, Karl was released by the police on the express
+condition that he would remain in Vienna only one day more. His scar,
+however, prevented his entering the service. Where, then, could he go,
+now that the fall was just beginning? His brother, Johann, invited him
+to his Wasserhof estate near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
+as he had once: _non possibile per me_--impossible for me. But his
+sojourn in a country house not constructed so as to guard against
+the cold and dampness, a want of attention to his growing infirmity,
+misunderstandings with his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with
+the brother himself, who, after it, refused him the use of his close
+carriage, and, lastly, his departure in the cold of winter in the
+“devil’s own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired to send
+our patient back to Vienna, the subject of a violent fit of sickness.
+In addition to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician, and
+none visited his sick bed until the third day after his return. The
+doctor who came was not Beethoven’s customary physician, and totally
+misunderstood the nature of the disease. Other shocks succeeded, and
+the consequence was a violent attack of dropsy, the symptoms of which
+had first shown themselves in Gneixendorf.
+
+His long, painfully long end was now beginning. His constitution,
+powerful as that of a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
+nearly three months. As labor of any kind was out of the question, the
+arrival of Handel’s works from London, which came to him as a present,
+supplied him with the distraction he wished for, in his own sphere. It
+was not long before attacks of suffocation at night distressed him and
+it became necessary to perform the operation paracentesis. When he saw
+the stream of water gush forth, he remarked, with that sublimity of
+humor so peculiarly his own, that the surgeon reminded him of Moses,
+who struck the rock with his rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he
+added: “Better water from the stomach than from the pen.” With this he
+consoled himself. But he grew worse, and a medical consultation seemed
+necessary to his friends. His own heart forebode him no good, and he
+again made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827. He made his beloved
+nephew “sole heir to all he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join
+his regiment the day before, and this had a good and quieting effect
+on Beethoven. He knew that the young man would be best provided for
+there, and testified his gratitude to General von Stutterheim, who had
+received him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet in C sharp
+minor--his “greatest” quartet. He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be
+called. But he had had a falling out years before with him, and the
+celebrated physician did not now want to excite the displeasure of his
+colleagues. Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly when I told
+him the doctor’s decision.”
+
+But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had exchanged a few words,
+the old friends lay weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor prescribed
+iced punch to “quicken the organs of digestion, enervated by too much
+medicine.” The first physician who was called to attend him tells
+us: “The effect of the prescription was soon perceptible. He grew
+cheerful, was full of witty sallies at times, and even dreamt that
+he might be able to finish his oratorio _Saul and David_.” From his
+written conversations, we see that a great many of his friends had
+gathered about his bed. He thought of finishing the Bach overture for
+one of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to busy himself with the
+Tenth Symphony once more. He had again to experience the feeling of
+pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition--an embarrassment now
+more painful than ever--brought about more especially by the necessity
+of procuring a military outfit for Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed,
+expressly promised a short time before to send him money, but he proved
+a “princely boaster;” and there was no prospect of an income from any
+other source. All his completed works had been sold, and the little
+fortune he had laid aside at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
+irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.
+
+His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous” English, who had already
+promised him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time. The third
+operation had been performed. His long-continued solitude had alienated
+men from him in Vienna; and, especially after his experiences with the
+_Akademie_ in 1824, he had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
+for art of his second home. This induced Schindler to write to England:
+“But what afflicts him very much is, that no one here concerns himself
+in the least about him; and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
+him is very surprising.” After this, we find only his most intimate
+friends at his bedside. Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened to
+be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes: “Thou must bless my boy as
+Voltaire blessed Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling and giving
+concerts, also saw him, and at the sight of his suffering--he had just
+undergone the fourth operation--burst into tears. Beethoven had, at the
+moment of Hummel’s visit, received a little picture as a present, and
+he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear Hummel, the house in which
+Haydn was born--the miserable peasant hut, in which so great a man was
+born!”
+
+He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who had purchased his Mass and
+his Ninth Symphony, and who was destined one day to become the owner
+of the _Niebelungen_, for some old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti
+recommended an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it seemed to him, would
+surely save him. But it had the very opposite effect, and he was soon
+taken with violent pains. He wrote to London: “I only ask God that
+I may be preserved from want as long as I must here endure a living
+death.” The response was one thousand guldens from the Philharmonic
+Society of that city “on account of the concert in preparation.” “It
+was heart-rending to see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
+in tears of joy and gratitude” when he received them. This was his
+last joy, and the excitement it caused accelerated his end. His wound
+broke open again and did not close any more. He felt this at first a
+wonderful relief, and while he felt so he dictated some letters for
+London, which are among the most beautiful he has written. He promised
+to finish the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had other “gigantic”
+plans, especially as regards his Faust music. “That will be something
+worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The overflow of his fancy was
+“indescribable, and his imagination showed an elasticity which his
+friends had noticed but seldom when he was in health.” At the same
+time, the most beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated before
+his mind, and in conversation he always represented his own works
+as filled with such “poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
+“indescribably great. His dissolution was approaching” with giant
+steps, and even his friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
+wrote to London on the 24th March: “He feels that his end is near, for
+yesterday he said to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands, friends; the
+play is over.’” And further: “He advances towards death with really
+Socratic wisdom and unexampled equanimity.” He could well be calm of
+heart and soul. He had done his duty as an artist and as a man. This
+same day he wrote a codicil to his will in favor of his nephew; and now
+his friends had only one deep concern--to reconcile him with heaven.
+The physician approved, and Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
+“I will.”
+
+The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly performed his last religious
+duties. Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him say, after he had
+received the sacrament: “Reverend sir, I thank you. You have brought me
+consolation.”
+
+He then reminded Schindler of the letter to London, “May God bless
+them,” he said. The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad! too bad! it’s
+too late!” These were his very last words. He fell immediately after
+into such an agony that he was not able to utter a single syllable
+more. On the 24th and 25th of March, the people came in crowds to see
+him again. Even the _faijaks_, Hoslinger and Holz, as well as the poet
+Castelli, were among them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,” said
+Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur, who, in relating the incident,
+added that when Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he covered his
+face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’ he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his
+hand, but never saw him again.’” This was the last act of his life.
+
+“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock, which he had received as a
+present from Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as it still does
+when a storm is approaching. Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
+churchyard, to select a grave for him. A storm of loud thunder and
+hail came raging on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van Beethoven
+and the young composer, Anselm Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither
+from Graz to look upon his revered master once more, were present in
+the room of the dying man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it with a
+lurid flash. The moribund opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and
+looked up with a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of the hero
+would not out. But when his uplifted hand fell back on the bed, his
+eyes half closed. Not another breath! Not another heart-beat! It was I
+that closed the half-open eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
+an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment. This was the 28th of March,
+1827.
+
+“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter, wept at his grave, but a
+world wept at it.” These are the words of the orator of the day on
+the occasion of the unveiling of the first monument to Beethoven in
+1845, in Bonn. But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring was
+a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty thousand human beings surged
+over the street where now the votive church stands; for in the
+_Schwarzspanierhaus_ behind it, Beethoven had lived during the last
+years of his life. The leading _capellmeisters_ of the city carried
+the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.
+
+“The news of his death had violently shaken the people out of their
+indifference,” says Dr. G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
+poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the funeral procession, “the
+general of musicians” whom men were carrying to the grave! The poet,
+Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration. He took for his text the
+words: “He was an artist, and he was what he was only through his art.”
+Our very being and our sublimest feelings are touched when we hear the
+name of
+
+  LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+  [A] To part from thee, my dear, this day,
+      And know that I can’t with thee stay,
+      Is more than my sad heart can bear.
+
+
+
+
+  TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,
+
+  COMPRISING
+
+  =MEMORIES;= A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.
+    BY MAX MÜLLER.
+
+  =GRAZIELLA;= A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.
+    BY A. DE LAMARTINE.
+
+  =MARIE;= A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.
+    BY ALEX. PUSHKIN.
+
+  =MADELEINE;= A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.
+    BY JULES SANDEAU.
+
+  _In neat box, per set_,             _Price, $3.00._
+  _Sold separately, per volume_,      _Price, $1.25._
+
+Of “Memories” the London _Academy_ says: “It is a prose poem. * * * It
+is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any work, however small,
+that does not bear some marks of its special bent, and the traces of
+research and philosophy In this little story are apparent, while its
+beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided mind, to which
+we already owe large debts of gratitude.”
+
+Of “Graziella” the Chicago _Tribune_ says: “It glows with love of
+the beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a perfect
+story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm and flow,
+the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform with
+‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the shelves
+of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong words.
+‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”
+
+Of “Marie” the Cincinnati _Gazette_ says: “This is a Russian love tale,
+written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little
+narratives that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic,
+and a Russian classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so
+distinctively Russian. We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and
+meet, face to face, the high-souled, simple-minded Russian.”
+
+Of “Madeleine” the New York _Evening Telegram_ says: “More than thirty
+years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French Academy and
+has since almost become a French classic. It abounds both in pathos
+and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love of the most
+exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so sweet,
+so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
+public.”
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every
+schoolboy._”--_Saturday Review, London._
+
+  Tales of Ancient Greece.
+
+  BY THE REV. SIR G. W. COX, BART., M.A.,
+  Trinity College, Oxford.
+
+  _12mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price, $1.50._
+
+
+“Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of
+manner which will recommend it to all.”--_The Examiner, London._
+
+“It is only when we take up such a book as this, that we realize how
+rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”--_Inquirer, Philadelphia._
+
+“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
+versions might well find a place in every family.”--_The Nation, New
+York._
+
+“The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely
+peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”--_Standard, Chicago._
+
+“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among those
+English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable rank
+in the investigation of Greek history.”--_Edinburgh Review._
+
+“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin,
+and yet fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for
+the first time, were ever before presented in so chaste and popular
+form.”--_Golden Rule, Boston._
+
+“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
+makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales, or
+the ‘Arabian Nights.’ * * * We do not know of a Christmas book which
+promises more lasting pleasures.”--_Publishers’ Weekly._
+
+“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its
+contents are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated
+intelligence. * * * The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome
+addition to a department of literature that is thus far quite too
+scantily furnished.”--_Tribune, Chicago._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+  SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,
+  FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
+
+  BY MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.
+
+  AUTHOR OF “SIX LITTLE COOKS,” “DORA’S HOUSEKEEPING,” ETC.
+
+  _12 mo., extra cloth, black and gilt_,      _Price $1.50._
+
+
+“A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times
+to the foundation of the existing Republic.”--_Cincinnati Gazette._
+
+“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little
+history may be commended as the best of its kind that has yet
+appeared.”--_Bulletin, Philadelphia._
+
+“A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium
+of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”--_Christian
+Union, New York._
+
+“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to
+conscientiously give it our heartiest commendation. We know no
+elementary history of France that can at all be compared with
+it.”--_Living Church._
+
+“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and
+nation--one that will seize and hold the attention of all bright
+boys and girls who have a chance to read it.”--_Sunday Afternoon,
+Springfield_, (_Mass._)
+
+“We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple
+and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion.
+The book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious
+study.”--_Courant, Hartford, Ct._
+
+“Miss Kirkland has composed her ‘Short History of France’ in the way
+in which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she
+has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
+reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of
+events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the
+characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods.”--_The
+Nation, N. Y._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_Unequalled by anything of the kind with which we are acquainted._”
+                                           --_Christian Advocate, N. Y._
+
+  CUMNOCK’S CHOICE READINGS.
+
+  FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. ARRANGED FOR THE EXERCISES OF
+  THE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND PUBLIC READER, WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE.
+  EDITED BY ROBERT MC’LAIN CUMNOCK, A. M., PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND
+  ELOCUTION, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.
+
+  _Large 12mo., cloth_,      _Price, $1.75._
+
+
+“It ought to become a special favorite among school and college
+students and public readers.”--_Evening Post, New York._
+
+“Taking into account the admirable type, the excellent taste, the
+brevity of the rhetorical counsels, the unsurpassed variety, we
+prefer Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”--_Christian
+Register, Boston._
+
+“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during the
+past ten years, we know of none so complete in all respects and so
+well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before
+us.”--_Transcript, Boston._
+
+“No choicer casket of prose and poetry has been given to us by any
+other author. These are the culled flowers from the bouquet of
+literature. They are of every nature known to the language, and each is
+of the best of its kind.”--_The Post, San Francisco._
+
+“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
+the English language are here assembled for the uses of the student of
+elocution. * * * The collection is valuable as a treasury of literary
+gems, apart from its worth as a manual of declamation.”--_Tribune,
+Chicago._
+
+“The volume consists in great measure of fresh specimens that have
+recently found their way into current literature, and present the charm
+of novelty with the merit of good writing. The ancient stream is thus
+enriched with supplies from new fountains, and living productions take
+the place of the veteran pieces which have grown old in the course of
+protracted service. * * * They are illustrations of the best literature
+of the day.”--_Tribune, New York._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_Dr. Gibson is a champion of more than ordinary skill._”--Gazette,
+Cincinnati.
+
+  THE FOUNDATIONS
+  OF
+  CHRISTIANITY.
+
+  BY REV. J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,
+  Author of “AGES BEFORE MOSES.”
+
+  _Square 16 mo._,      _Price, $1.00._
+
+
+“Admirable because of its brevity and directness, and because it
+answers, without any theological circumlocution, the objections
+which modern infidelity puts forth so pertinaciously.”--_Inquirer,
+Philadelphia._
+
+“The book, both in manner and matter, will be found to be just the
+thing which many thoughtful yet perplexed persons need to direct their
+inquiries and resolve their doubts. The style is fresh, vigorous and
+incisive.”--_Canada Presbyterian, Toronto._
+
+“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who
+thinks at all on these noble themes, and we are sure that its
+effect will be wholesome and powerful in removing difficulties,
+strengthening defenses, and establishing the spirit upon sure
+foundations.”--_Observer, New York._
+
+“Dr. Gibson’s book, though so condensed, is admirable in method,
+and vigorous and fresh in style, throughout. As a brief and popular
+presentation of the fundamental truths, such as are apt to expand
+beyond ordinary ability to read in most hands, nothing more valuable
+has recently emanated from the press.”--_Rev. Dr. H. M. Field, in the
+Evangelist._
+
+“The treatment is masterly. The author grapples the points essential
+to the argument with courage and vigor, and in a style notable for its
+trenchant force, sets them forth in convincing light. While others meet
+the infidel argument more on the skirmish line, Christian people will
+be glad to see one like Dr. Gibson bearing down upon the very centre of
+the enemy’s position.”--_Rev. Dr. J. A. Smith, in the Standard._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+“_An exceedingly interesting narrative of an extraordinary life._”--The
+Standard.
+
+  LIFE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD:
+  HIS PATRIOTISM AND HIS TREASON.
+
+  BY HON. I. N. ARNOLD,
+  AUTHOR OF “LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”
+
+  _Crown, 8vo., with Portrait_,      _Price, $2.50._
+
+
+This Life of Arnold is full of new facts, now first given to the
+public. Manuscripts from the family of Arnold, in England and in
+Canada, and the Shippen manuscripts, have enabled the author to make
+new contributions to Revolutionary history of great interest. The
+unpublished manuscripts of General Schuyler, to which the author has
+had access, has thrown new light upon the expedition to Canada and the
+campaign against Burgoyne. The author does not, to any extent, excuse
+Arnold’s treason, but aims to do full justice to him as a soldier and
+patriot. For Arnold, the traitor, he has no plea but “guilty;” for
+Arnold, the soldier and patriot, he asks a hearing and justice.
+
+“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
+baseness; and while exhibiting the former and the splendid services by
+which it was illustrated, with generous earnestness, does not in any
+degree extenuate the turpitude of the other.”--_Harper’s Monthly._
+
+“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is
+thrown on the prominent actors and events of history. * * * Bancroft
+erroneously asserts that Arnold was not present at the first battle
+of Saratoga. Upon this point the author has justice and right on his
+side, and to Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive
+campaign seems greatly attributable.”--_New England Historical and
+Genealogical Register._
+
+“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold
+has accomplished his task wonderfully well. * * * It is rarely that one
+meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
+the devoted wife of Benedict Arnold; she mourned his fallen greatness,
+but even in his ignominity was faithful to the vows by which she had
+sworn to love and care for him until death.”--_Traveller, Boston._
+
+  _Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by_
+  JANSEN, McCLURG & CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
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+
+  Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.
+
+  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+  Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
+
+  Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.
+
+
+
+
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+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Life of Beethoven, by Louis Nohl</p>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
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+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Life of Beethoven</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Biographies of musicians</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Louis Nohl</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: John J. Lalor</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 3, 2023 [eBook #69693]</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp51" id="i_frontispiece" style="max-width: 450px;">
+<img class="w100" src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="Ludwig Van Beethoven">
+<figcaption class="caption">
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Ludwig Van Beethoven.</span></p></figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+<p><span class="large"><i>BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS.</i></span></p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<h1><span class="smcap">Life of Beethoven</span></h1>
+
+<p>BY<br>
+<span class="xlarge">LOUIS NOHL</span></p>
+
+<p>TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN<br>
+BY<br>
+<span class="large">JOHN J. LALOR.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p>“<i>Our age has need of vigorous minds.</i>”</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>CHICAGO:<br>
+JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.<br>
+1881.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">COPYRIGHT.<br>
+<span class="large">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; COMPANY.</span><br>
+A. D. 1880.<br>
+<br>
+STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED<br>
+BY<br>
+THE CHICAGO LEGAL NEWS COMPANY.</p>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Music</span> is the most popular of the arts. It fills
+man’s breast with a melancholy joy. Even the brute
+creation is not insensible to its power. Yet, at its
+best, music is a haughty, exclusive being, and not
+without reason are training, practice, talent, and
+the development of that talent, required for the
+understanding of her secrets. “One wishes to be
+heard with the intellect, by one’s equals; emotion
+becomes only women, but music should strike fire
+from the mind of a man.” In some such strain as
+this, Beethoven himself once spoke, and we know
+how slowly the works of the great symphonist found
+a hearing and recognition from the general public.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, who is there to-day who does not know the
+name of Beethoven? Who is there that, hearing
+one of his compositions, does not feel the presence
+of a sublime, all-ruling power—of a power that
+springs from the deepest sources of all life? His
+very name inspires us with a feeling of veneration,
+and we can readily believe the accounts that have
+come down to us; how even strangers drew back
+with a species of awe, before this man of imposing
+appearance, spite of his smallness of stature, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span>
+his rounded shoulders, erect head, wavy hair and
+piercing glance. Who has not heard of the two
+charcoal-burners who suddenly stopped their heavily
+laden vehicle when they met, in a narrow pass,
+this “crabbed musician,” so well known to all
+Vienna, and who was wont to stand and think, and
+then, humming, to go his way, moving about bee-like
+through nature from sunrise, with his memorandum book
+in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>We are moved with the same feeling of respect
+that moved those common men, when we hear only
+Beethoven’s name, but how much more powerfully
+are we stirred when we hear his music! We feel
+in that music the presence of the spirit that animates
+and sustains the world, and which is continually
+calling new life into existence. Even the
+person who is not a musician himself may feel, in
+these mighty productions, the certainty of the
+presence of the Creator of all things. Their tones
+sound to him like the voice of man’s heart of
+hearts, the joys and sorrows of which Beethoven
+has laid bare to us. We feel convinced, when we
+hear them, that the person who in them speaks to
+us has, in very deed, something to tell us, something
+of our own life; because he lived and felt
+more deeply than we what we all live and feel, and
+loved and suffered what we all love and suffer, more
+deeply than any other child of dust. In Beethoven,
+we meet with a personage really great, both in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>
+mind and heart, one who was able to become a
+sublime model to us, because life and art were serious
+things with him, and one who made it his duty
+“to live not for himself, but for other men.” The
+high degree of self-denying power found in this
+phenomenon of art, it is that has such an elevating
+effect on us. The duties of life and the tasks
+of the artist he discharged with equal fidelity.
+His life was the foundation on which the superstructure
+of his works rose. His greatness as a
+man was the source of his greatness as an artist.
+The mere story of his life, given here in outline,
+reveals to us the internal springs of his artistic
+creations, and we must perforce admit, that the
+history of Beethoven’s life is a part of the history
+of the higher intellectual life of our time and of
+humanity.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<table>
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His<br>
+Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears in<br>
+Public at the Age of Seven—Errors as to His Age—Travels in Holland—Studies<br>
+the Organ in Vienna—His Fame Foretold—His Personal<br>
+Appearance—Meets Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian,<br>
+Elector of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual<br>
+Training—Madame von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and<br>
+Hayden—Compositions written in Vienna</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a>-<a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The<br>
+Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First Great Exploits—Plans<br>
+for Future Work—Decides to Remove to the North—New Compositions—His<br>
+Improvisations—Disappointments in North Germany—Prince<br>
+Louis Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His<br>
+Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The<br>
+Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness Again—Thoughts<br>
+of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning of His Music—His<br>
+“Will”—Disappointment—Meaning of the Eroica and Fidelio—The<br>
+Leonore Overture—Other Compositions</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40">40</a>-<a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR.—THE PASTORALE, AND THE SEVENTH,<br> SYMPHONIES.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">The Pastorale—Meaning of the Apassionata—Beethoven’s Letter to His<br>
+“Immortal Loved One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—Thinks<br>
+of Writing Operas—Court Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The<br>
+Mass in C, op. 86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio In Prague—Music<br>
+for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Character of<br>
+His Works about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The<br>
+Cello Sonata, op. 69—Improvement in His pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph<br>
+Bonaparte—Vienna fears to lose Him—Contemplated Journey<br>
+to England—The Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His<br>
+Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a>-<a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The Battle-Symphony—Its<br>
+Success—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual<br>
+Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The Fidelio Before the<br>
+Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the Object of Universal Attention—Presents<br>
+from Kings—The Liederkreis—Madame von Ertmann—Romulus<br>
+and the Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for<br>
+London—Opinion of the English People—His Missa Solemnis—His<br>
+Own Opinion of it—Its Completion—Characteristics—The Ninth Symphony</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a>-<a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">THE LAST QUARTETS</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="tdl">Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The Great<br>
+Concert of May, 1821—Preparation for It—Small Returns—Beethoven<br>
+Appreciated—The Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture<br>
+on B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His Works—His<br>
+Brother Johann—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration of<br>
+Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the Young Man<br>
+Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The “Magnanimous”<br>
+English—Calls a Clergyman—His Death</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph2">LIFE OF BEETHOVEN.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1770-1794</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">BEETHOVEN’S YOUTH AND EARLIEST EFFORTS.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Birth and Baptism—His Family—Young Beethoven’s Character—His
+Brothers Karl and Johann—Early Talent for Music—Appears
+in Public at the Age of Seven—Error as to His
+Age—Travels in Holland—Studies the Organ in Vienna—His
+Fame Foretold—His Personal Appearance—Meets
+Mozart—Mozart’s Opinion of Him—Maximilian, Elector
+of Cologne, and Mozart—Beethoven’s Intellectual Training—Madame
+von Breuning—First Love—Beethoven and
+Haydn—Compositions written in Vienna.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ludwig van Beethoven</span> was baptized in
+Bonn on the 17th of December, 1770. We
+know only this the date of his baptism, with
+any certainty, and hence the 17th of December
+is assumed to be his birthday likewise.</p>
+
+<p>His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a
+singer in the chapel of the Elector, in Bonn.
+The family, however, had come originally from
+the Netherlands. Beethoven’s grandfather
+came to Bonn in 1732 after willfully leaving the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>
+parental roof in consequence of a quarrel. He
+had attracted attention as a bass singer in the
+church and the theater, and was made director
+of the court band in 1763. By his industry, he
+had founded a family, was earning a respectable
+livelihood, and had won for himself the
+personal regard of the community. He did,
+besides, a small business in wines, but this,
+which was only accessory to his calling as a
+musician, contributed to undermine both his
+own happiness and his son’s. His wife, Josepha
+Poll, fell a victim to the vice of intemperance,
+and, in consequence, it at last became
+necessary to confine her in a convent in
+Cologne. Unfortunately, the only surviving
+son inherited the vice of his mother.</p>
+
+<p>“Johann van Beethoven was given to the tasting
+of wine from a very early age,” says the
+account of his playmates. It was not long before
+this weakness got the upper hand to such
+an extent that his family and home suffered
+greatly. It finally led to his discharge from
+his position. Stephan van Breuning, our own
+Beethoven’s friend in youth, saw him, on one
+occasion, liberate the drunken father out of the
+hands of the police in the public streets.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>We here get a glimpse at a period in Beethoven’s
+youth, which put the strength of his
+mind as well as the goodness of his heart to
+the test. For in consequence of the very respectable
+position occupied by his grandfather,
+of his own early appointment as court organist,
+and of the rapid development of his
+talent, Beethoven soon enjoyed the society of
+the higher classes, and was employed in the
+capacity of musician in the families of the
+nobility and at court. Yet, we are told, whenever
+it happened that he and his two younger
+brothers were obliged to take their intoxicated
+father home, they always performed that
+disagreeable task with the utmost tenderness.
+He was never known to utter a hard or unkind
+word about the man who had made his
+youth so sunless, and he never failed to resent
+it when a third person spoke uncharitably of
+his father’s frailty. The reserve and a certain
+haughtiness, however, which marked his disposition
+as a youth and a man, are traceable to
+these early harsh experiences.</p>
+
+<p>And who knows the complications which
+caused misfortune to get the upper hand here!
+True, we are told that “Johann van Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>
+was of a volatile and flighty disposition;” but
+even his playmates, when he was a boy, had
+nothing bad to say of his character. Anger
+and stubbornness seem, indeed, to have been
+the inheritance of his Netherland nature; and
+these our hero also displayed to no small extent.
+But while the grandfather had earned a very
+good position for himself, and always so deported
+himself that young Beethoven might take
+him as an example, and loved to speak of him
+as a “man of honor,” his father was never
+more than a singer in the chapel, on a small
+salary. But, notwithstanding his comparatively
+humble social position, he had made a
+mistake in marrying below his station.</p>
+
+<p>Johann van Beethoven took Magdalena
+Kewerich, of Ehrenbreitstein, to wife, in 1763.
+She is described as a “pretty and slender
+woman.” She had served as a chambermaid,
+for a time, in some of the families of the great,
+had married young, and was left a widow at the
+age of nineteen. Johann’s marriage to this
+woman was not acceptable to the court <i>capellmeister</i>,
+and so it happened that he was obliged
+to leave the home in which he had thus far
+lived with his lonely father, and move into a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>
+wing of the house, number 515, in Bonn
+street, where his son Ludwig, the subject of
+this sketch, was born.</p>
+
+<p>The young wife brought no property to her
+husband. Several children were born to the
+newly married couple in quick succession. Of
+these, Karl, born in 1774 and Johann in 1766,
+play some part in Beethoven’s life. The growth
+of the family was so rapid that it was not long
+before they felt the burthen of pecuniary
+distress. The grandfather, who was well to
+do, helped them, at first. His stately figure
+in his red coat, with his massive head and “big
+eyes,” remained fixed in the boy Ludwig’s
+memory, although he was only three years of
+age when his grandfather died. The child
+was, indeed, tenderly attached to him. As
+the father’s poverty increased, he made some
+efforts to improve his condition. But they
+were of no avail; for his deportment was only
+“passable” and his voice “was leaving him.”
+He now had recourse to teaching, and obtained
+employment in the theater, for he played the
+violin also. Sickness, however, soon eat up
+what was left of his little fortune. Their
+furniture and table ware followed their silver-service<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>
+and linen—“which one might have
+drawn through a ring,”—to the pawn-shop;
+and now the father’s poverty contributed only
+to make him, more and more, the victim of
+his weakness for the cup.</p>
+
+<p>But there was even now one star of hope in
+the dreary firmament of his existence—his son
+Ludwig’s talent for music. This talent showed
+itself in very early childhood, and could not,
+by any possibility, escape the observation of
+the father, who, after all, was himself a “good
+musician.” And, although the father was not
+destined to live to see his son in the zenith of
+his success, it was his son’s talent alone that
+saved the family from ruin and their name
+from oblivion, for with the birth of Beethoven’s
+younger brother, Johann, and of a sister
+who died shortly after, the circumstances of
+the family became still more straightened.
+Mozart had been in Bonn a short time before,
+and it occurred to the father to train his son
+to be a second little Mozart, and, by traveling
+with him, earn the means of subsistence of
+which the family stood so sorely in need.
+And so the boy was rigidly kept to his lessons
+on the piano and violin. His daily exercises<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>
+on these instruments must have been a severer
+task on him than would seem to be necessary
+in a regular course of musical training.
+He used to be taken from his playing
+with other children to practice, and friends of
+his youth tell us how they saw him standing
+on a stool before the piano and cry while he
+practiced his lessons. Even the rod was called
+into requisition in his education, and the expostulations
+of friends could not dissuade the
+father from such relentless severity. But the
+end was attained. Regular and persevering
+exercise, laid the foundation of a skill in the
+art of music, which led him before the public
+when only seven years of age. On the
+26th of March (by a strange coincidence the
+day of the month on which Beethoven died),
+the father announced, in a paper published in
+Cologne, that “his son, aged six years, would
+have the honor to wait on the public with several
+concertos for the piano, when, he flattered
+himself, he would be able to afford a distinguished
+audience a rich treat; and this all the
+more since he had been favored with a hearing
+by the whole court, who listened to him with
+the greatest pleasure.” The child, to enhance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>
+the surprise, was made one year younger in this
+announcement than he was in reality; and this
+led Beethoven himself into an error as to his
+age, which he did not discover until he was
+nearly forty.</p>
+
+<p>We need say but little concerning his other
+teachers when a youth. His great school was
+want, which urged him to follow and practice
+his art, so that he might master it, and, with
+its assistance, make his way through the
+world. When Beethoven grew to be eight
+years of age, he had as a teacher, in addition
+to his father, the vocalist Tobias Pfeiffer, for a
+whole year. Pfeiffer lived in the Beethoven
+family. He was a skillful pianist. Beethoven
+considered him one of the teachers to whom
+he was most indebted, and was subsequently
+instrumental in procuring assistance for him
+from Vienna. But we may form some idea of
+the nature of his instruction, and of the mode
+of living in the family, from the fact, attested by
+Beethoven’s neighbors, that it frequently happened
+that Pfeiffer, after coming home with
+the father late in the night from the tavern,
+took young Ludwig out of bed and kept him
+at the piano practicing till morning. Yet the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>
+success attendant on this instruction was such,
+even now, that when the boy, Beethoven and
+his teacher, who performed on the flute, played
+variations together, the people in the streets
+stopped and listened to their delightful music.
+In 1781, when Ludwig was ten years old, he
+traveled to Holland with his mother, played
+in the houses of the great, and astonished
+every one by his skill. The profits from this
+journey, however, cannot have been very
+large. When the boy was questioned about
+them, he replied: “The Dutch are a niggardly
+set; I shall never visit Holland again.”</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, he turned his attention
+also to the study of the organ. Under the
+guidance of a certain Brother Willibald, of a
+neighboring Franciscan monastery, he soon
+became so proficient on that instrument, that
+he was able to act as assistant organist at divine
+service. But his principal teachers here
+were the old electoral court organist, van den
+Eeden, and afterwards, his successor, Christian
+Gottlob Neefe. In what regards composition
+the latter was the first to exercise any real influence
+on Beethoven, and Beethoven, in after
+years, thanked him for the good advice he had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>
+given him—advice which had contributed so
+much to his success in the “divine art.” He
+concludes a letter to Neefe as follows: “If
+I should turn out some day to be a great man,
+you will have contributed to making me such.”
+Neefe came originally from Saxony. As an
+organist, he had all the characteristics of the
+North German artists; but, on the other hand,
+he had, as a composer, a leaning towards the sonata-style
+introduced by Ph. E. Bach. He was a
+man of broad general education, and the form
+of his artistic productions was almost faultless.
+Such was young Beethoven’s proficiency at the
+age of eleven, in 1782, that Neefe was able to
+appoint him his “substitute,” and thus to pave
+the way for his appointment as court organist.
+We owe to him the first published account of
+Beethoven, and from that account we learn
+that the great foundation of his instruction
+was Bach’s “well-tempered clavichord,” that
+<i>ne plus ultra</i> of counterpoint and technic. He
+first made a reputation in Vienna by his
+masterly playing of Bach’s fugues. But the
+instruction he had received in composition,
+bore fruit also, and some variations to a march
+and three sonatas, by him, appeared at this
+time in print.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>In the account of Beethoven referred to
+above, and which was written in 1783, Neefe
+said that that young “genius” was deserving
+of support that he might be able to travel,
+and that he would certainly be another Mozart.
+But the development of his genius soon
+took a wider scope. He even, on one occasion,
+when Neefe was prevented doing so, presided at
+a rehearsal in the Bonn theater, in which the
+best pieces of the age were produced. This was
+at the age of twelve. And so it happened that
+his artistic views and technic skill grew steadily
+greater. We are told that when he became
+court organist, at the age of thirteen, he
+made the very accurate vocalist Heller lose the
+key entirely during the performance of divine
+service, by his own bold modulations. True,
+the Elector forbade such “strokes of genius”
+in the future, but he, no less than his <i>capellmeister</i>
+Luchesi, was greatly astonished at the
+extraordinary capacity of the young man.</p>
+
+<p>Incidents of this kind may have suggested the
+propriety of giving him the instruction appropriate
+for a really great master of art; and, indeed,
+we find the court organist of Bonn with
+Mozart in Vienna, in the spring of 1787.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>Beethoven’s appearance was not what would
+be called imposing. He was small of stature,
+muscular and awkward, with a short snub
+nose. When he was introduced to Mozart,
+the latter was rather cool in his praise of his
+musical performances, considering them pieces
+learned by heart simply for purposes of parade.
+Beethoven, thereupon requested Mozart
+to give him a subject, that he might try his
+powers of musical improvisation. Charmed
+with the ability displayed in the execution of
+the task thus imposed on his young visitor,
+Mozart exclaimed: “Mark that young man!
+the world will hear of him some day.”
+Beethoven, however, received very little instruction
+from Mozart, who was so deeply engaged,
+just at this time, with the composition
+of his <i>Don Giovanni</i>, and so sorely tried by
+adverse circumstances, that he played very little
+for him, and could give him only a few lessons.
+Besides, Beethoven’s mother was now
+taken seriously ill, and after a few weeks he
+had to return home, where other blows of a
+hard fate awaited him. His kind, good mother,
+was snatched from him by death, and his
+father’s unfortunate weakness for strong drink<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>
+obtained such a mastery over him that he was
+deprived of his position shortly after. The
+duty of supporting his two younger brothers
+was thus imposed on Ludwig, the eldest.</p>
+
+<p>Young Beethoven was thus taught many a
+severe lesson early in life, in the hard school
+of adversity. But his trials were not without
+advantage to him. They gave to his character
+that iron texture which upheld him under
+the heaviest burthens, nor was his recall to
+Bonn a misfortune. He there found the very
+advantages which he had gone to seek in the
+musical metropolis, Vienna; for Maximilian
+Francis, Elector of Cologne, the friend and
+patron of Mozart, was one of the noble princes
+of the preceding century, who made their
+courts the sanctuary of culture and of art.</p>
+
+<p>Maximilian was the youngest son of Maria
+Theresa. He had received the careful training,
+for which that imperial house was noted,
+and he found in Joseph II an example in
+every way worthy of imitation. He was as
+faithful to his calling as an ecclesiastic as to
+his duties as a ruler, and as adverse to what
+he looked upon as superstition in the garb of
+Christianity, as to the extravagance of his predecessors,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>
+who had left the country in a state
+of corruption and destitution. He everywhere
+endeavored to bring order out of chaos
+and to spread prosperity among his people.
+A pure, fresh atmosphere filled the little court
+as long as he presided in it. He was still
+young, not much over thirty, and a man of
+the truest principles. Speaking of him as
+“that most humane and best of princes,” a
+contemporary writer says: “People had grown
+accustomed to think of Cologne as a land of
+darkness, but when they came to the Elector’s
+court, they quickly changed their mind.”
+The members of the orchestra of the court
+especially, among whom our young court organist
+is to be reckoned, were, we are told,
+very intelligent, right thinking men, of elegant
+manners and unexceptionable conduct.</p>
+
+<p>The Elector had opened the University in
+1776, and established a public reading-room,
+which he visited with no more ostentation
+than any one else. “All these institutions, as
+I looked upon it, had sworn allegiance to an
+unknown genius of humanity, and, for the
+first time in my life, my mind had a glimmer
+of the meaning and majesty of science,” writes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>
+the painter, Gerhard Kuegelgen, and how could
+Beethoven have thought differently? He had,
+it is true, devoted himself so exclusively to
+music that he had made very little progress in
+anything else. In the use of figures he always
+found great difficulty, and his spelling was
+worse than could be easily tolerated even in
+his own day, when orthography was a rather
+rare accomplishment. He had studied a little
+French and Latin. But the breezes of a higher
+intellectual culture which, at this time, swept
+through Bonn and influenced him likewise
+through his intimate intercourse with the most
+highly cultivated people of the city, soon lifted
+him to heights unattained by other artists
+and musicians of his century—heights from
+which he continually discerned new fields of
+action. As a consequence of this intercourse
+with the learned, he acquired intellectual tastes
+in various directions, and so seriously occupied
+himself with things intellectual that they became
+a necessity to his nature. He tells us
+himself that, without laying the least claim to
+real learning, it had been his endeavor from
+childhood to acquaint himself with what was
+best and wisest in every age. But these intellectual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>
+leanings did not prevent him from being,
+as the painter Kuegelgen said of himself,
+lovingly devoted to his art. And his own
+beloved art of music was, at this very time, cultivated
+in Bonn with a greater earnestness and
+devotion than any other.</p>
+
+<p>The writer referred to above, speaking of
+the Elector, says: “Not only did he play himself,
+but he was an enthusiastic lover of music.
+It seemed as if he could never tire of hearing
+it. Whenever he went to a concert, he was
+the most attentive person in the whole audience.”
+And no wonder; for the musical instruction
+given to the children of Maria
+Theresa was excellent. Indeed, the art of music
+in Vienna was at that time at its height.
+That city was the scene of the labors of Gluck,
+Haydn and Mozart. And so there was only
+good music to be heard in the “cabinet” at
+Bonn. Our Beethoven, now a distinguished
+pianist, contributed his share to this; and
+we need not be surprised to find him employed
+by a prince who knew Mozart and loved him.</p>
+
+<p>But it was not musicians alone who were
+benefited by prince’s patronage. No sooner
+did the condition of the country leave him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>
+the necessary leisure, and the state of its
+finances afford him the necessary means, than
+he turned his best attention to the theater and
+the orchestra. As far back as 1784, Maximilian
+Francis had organized an orchestra, and
+our young court organist took a place in it as
+a player of the tenor violin. The violinist,
+Ries, and Simrock, a performer on the French
+horn, were also members of it. Ries and
+Simrock had henceforth much to do with
+Mozart. The following year, a troupe visited
+Bonn, and gave Italian operas, French vaudevilles,
+as well as Gluck’s <i>Alceste and Orpheus</i>.
+They were followed by Grossmann, a person
+of rare intellect, and one who holds a distinguished
+place in the history of German
+dramatic art. His repertory included the
+plays of Shakespeare, Lessing, Schiller and
+Goethe, with all of whom Beethoven thus became
+acquainted early in life. In 1788, Maximilian
+Francis established a national theater,
+and, dating from this, dramatic poetry and
+music began to flourish in Bonn, so that it
+took its place, in this respect, side by side with
+Mannheim, Vienna and Weimar, and became
+a school well calculated to foster the great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>
+abilities of Beethoven. In the orchestra we
+find such men as Andreas, Bernhard Romberg
+and Anton Reicher, afterwards so celebrated as
+a writer on the theory of music. The latter
+was, at this time, Beethoven’s most intimate
+friend and companion in art. Actors, too, come
+upon the stage, many of whom subsequently
+filled all Germany with their fame. Dramatic
+works of every description appeared. There was
+Martin’s <i>Tree of Diana</i>, Mozart’s <i>Elopement
+from the Seraglio</i>, Salieri’s <i>Grotto of Trophonius</i>,
+Dittersdorf’s <i>Doctor and Apothecary</i>,
+and <i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, Gluck’s <i>Pilgrim
+of Mecca</i>, besides Paisiello’s <i>King Theodore</i>,
+and greatest of all, <i>Don Giovanni</i>. The music
+“pleased connoisseurs;” and <i>Figaro’s Marriage</i>
+greatly charmed both singers and the members
+of the orchestra, who vied with one another
+to do justice to that beautiful opera.
+“The strength of our theater,” says a writer
+of the time, characteristically and simply,
+“lay in our opera.”</p>
+
+<p>This continual contemplation of “characters
+in tone” played a decided part in the
+development of an artist who was destined to
+infuse into instrumental music so much of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>
+poetical and even of dramatic life. We are
+informed that Beethoven’s power of delineating
+character in the language of music was so
+great, even at this time, that when improvising,
+which he was very fond of doing, he was
+frequently asked “to describe the character of
+some well-known person.” One distinguishing
+peculiarity of the Bonn orchestra had a
+marked influence in the development of the
+great symphonist of the future, Beethoven.
+We refer to what has been called “the accurate
+observation of musical light and shade, or
+of the <i>forte</i> and <i>piano</i>.” This musical peculiarity
+was introduced into the Bonn orchestra
+by a former <i>capellmeister</i>, Mattioli, “a man
+full of fire and refined feeling,” who had
+learned orchestral accentuation and declamation
+from Gluck, and whose musical enthusiasm
+caused him to be considered the superior
+of Cannabich of Mannheim, who played such
+a part in Mozart’s life, and who had originated
+this mode of musical delivery in Germany.
+He was succeeded by Joseph Reicha, under
+whose energetic leadership the Bonn orchestra
+reached its highest point of perfection. In
+the autumn of 1791, we find that entire orchestra<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>
+in Mergentheim, the seat of the German
+order of which Maximilian Francis was
+Grand Master; and we have an account of it
+from Mergentheim which gives us a very clear
+idea of Beethoven’s life as a student.</p>
+
+<p>Our informant tells us, in the first place,
+that he was very much impressed by an octet
+of wind instruments. All eight players were,
+he says, masters who had reached a high degree
+of truth and perfection, especially in the
+sustaining of tones. Does not this remind one
+of Beethoven’s exquisite septet op. 20? How
+Ries infused life and spirit into all by his sure
+and vigorous bowing in the orchestra! What
+once could be heard only in Mannheim, we
+are told, was now heard here—the close observance
+of the <i>piano</i> and the <i>forte</i> and the
+<i>rinforzando</i>, the swell and gradual growth of
+tone, followed by the dropping of the same
+from the utmost intensity to the merest breath.
+Bernhard Romberg’s playing is lauded for
+“perfection of expression and its fine shades
+of feeling which appeal to the heart;” his
+cousin Andreas’s for “taste in delivery,” and
+the true art of his “musical painting.” Can
+we wonder that Beethoven’s emulation of, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>
+struggling for the mastery with such men
+contributed constantly to develop his genius?
+He is praised for the peculiar expression of
+his playing, and above all for the speaking,
+significant, expressive character of his fancy.
+Our informant says, in closing his account: “I
+found him wanting in nothing which goes to
+make the great artist. All the superior performers
+of this orchestra are his admirers.
+They are all ears when he plays, but the man
+himself is exceedingly modest and without
+pretension of any kind.”</p>
+
+<p>We have now seen what was Beethoven’s
+technical training both by practice and example,
+on the organ and the piano, in the theater
+and the orchestra, and how all these were
+to him a school of musical composition; for
+the Bonn orchestra was as conversant with
+Mozart and Haydn as we of to-day are with
+Beethoven. How thoroughly he comprehended
+and appreciated Mozart especially, is attested
+by what he once said to John Cramer,
+the only piano player to whom Beethoven himself
+applied terms of high praise. The two
+were walking, in 1799, in the park in Vienna,
+listening to Mozart’s concert in C minor.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>
+“Cramer! Cramer!” Beethoven exclaimed,
+when he heard the simple and beautiful theme
+near the close: “We shall never be able to accomplish
+anything like that.” “What a modest
+man!” was the reply. This leads us to
+say something of the few beautiful, purely
+human gifts which were the fruit Beethoven
+enjoyed through life, of his youth in Bonn.</p>
+
+<p>In Bonn, lived Madame von Breuning, with
+her four children, who were only a little
+younger than our court organist. Beethoven
+and one of the sons, Stephan, received instruction
+in music from Ries, and were thus thrown
+together. But it was not long before our
+young artist himself was called upon to teach
+the piano in the family of Madame von
+Breuning. How lonely Beethoven felt after his
+good mother had succumbed to her many sufferings
+and sorrows, we learn from the first
+letter of his that has come down to us. We
+there read: “She was so good and amiable a
+mother to me! She was my best friend. O,
+who was happier than I while I could yet
+pronounce the sweet name of mother! There
+was once some one to hear me when I said
+‘mother!’ But to whom can I address that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>
+name now? Only to the silent pictures of
+her which my fancy paints.” But Madame
+von Breuning became a second mother to him;
+and what her home was, we are informed by
+Doctor Wegeler, afterwards husband of
+Madame von Breuning’s daughter Eleonore,
+for a time one of Beethoven’s pupils. He
+writes: “Her home was pervaded by an
+atmosphere of unconstrained refinement, spite
+of an occasional outburst of the petulance of
+youth. The boy, Christoph, took very early
+to the writing of little poems. Stephan did the
+same thing at a much later date, and successfully.
+The useful and agreeable were found combined
+in the little social entertainments of
+family friends. It was not long before
+Beethoven was treated as one of the children.
+He spent the greater part of the day in Madame
+Bruening’s home, and not unfrequently, the
+night. He felt at home in the family, and everything
+about him contributed to cheer him and
+to develop his mind.” When it is known, on
+the authority of the same Doctor Wegeler,
+that it was at Madame von Breuning’s home
+that Beethoven first became acquainted with
+German literature, that there he received his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>
+first lessons in social etiquette, it is easy to estimate
+the value to him of the friendship of
+the Breuning family—a friendship which was
+never interrupted for a moment during his
+long life.</p>
+
+<p>It was while in the enjoyment of this intercourse
+with the Breuning family that he felt
+the first, charming intimations of the tender
+passion. Wegeler makes mention of two
+young ladies, one of whom, a pretty, cheerful
+and lively blonde, Jeannette d’Honrath, of
+Cologne, was a frequent visitor at the Breuning’s.
+She took delight in teasing our young
+musician, and playfully addressed him, singing:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Mich heute noch von dir zu trennen,</div>
+<div class="verse">Und dieses nicht verhindern koennen,</div>
+<div class="verse">Ist zu empfendlich für mein Herz!”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>His favored rival in Jeannette’s affections
+was a captain in the Austrian army, by the
+name of Greth. His name occurs, in 1823,
+in the written conversations of our deaf master.
+He was just as much taken with the
+sweet and beautiful Miss W. (Westherhold),<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>
+but to no purpose. He called his love for her
+a “young Werther’s love,” and, many years
+after, he told B. Romberg a great many anecdotes
+about it. What he thought of his acquaintance
+with the Breuning family and
+these two young persons may be inferred from
+the words in which he dedicated the variations
+<i>Se vuol ballare</i>, to his friend Lorchen (Eleonore
+Breuning) in 1793: “May this work,”
+he says, “serve to recall the time when I
+spent so many and such happy hours in your
+home.”</p>
+
+<p>Besides the home of the Breunings, in which
+Beethoven was always so welcome, we may
+mention another—that of Count Waldstein, to
+whom the sonata op. 23 is dedicated. The
+count was very friendly to Beethoven. He
+was aware of his genius, and, on that account,
+afforded him pecuniary assistance. Yet, to
+spare the artist’s feelings, this assistance was
+made to have the appearance of coming from
+the Elector. It may be that it was this same
+amiable and art-loving young Austrian who endeavored
+to keep Beethoven’s eye fixed on the
+one place in the world in which he could receive
+the final touch to his musical education,—Vienna.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>
+The very multitude of Beethoven’s
+ideas, and the height to which his intellect
+had soared, showed him that he was far from
+having reached perfection in the artistic representation
+of those ideas. His readiness of execution
+and his wonderful power of improvisation,
+even now, assured him victory wherever he
+went. But the small number of compositions
+which he wrote at this time, in Bonn, is sufficient
+proof that he did not feel sure of himself
+as a composer. And yet he had now reached
+an age at which Mozart was celebrated as a
+composer of operas.</p>
+
+<p>In March, 1790, Haydn, on his journey to
+London, passed through Bonn, and was presented
+to the orchestra by Maximilian Francis,
+in person. He returned in the summer of
+1792, and as Mozart had died in the meantime,
+nothing was more natural than that
+Beethoven should apply to the greatest living
+musician for instruction. The Elector assisted
+him; and we may divine how the young musician’s
+heart must have swelled, now that he
+had entered the real wrestling-place in his
+art, from what, as we stated before, he said to
+his teacher Neefe: “If I ever become a great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>
+man,” etc. But what was there that is not
+expected from such a person? Waldstein
+expressed the “realization of his long contested
+wishes” by writing in Beethoven’s
+album: “By uninterrupted industry, thou
+wilt acquire the mind of Mozart from the
+hands of Haydn.” When the wars of the
+Revolution swept over the boundaries of
+France, the excitement produced was great
+and universal. Beethoven was affected only
+by its ideal side. He was spared the sight of
+the grotesque ridiculousness of the <i>sans
+culottes</i> and the blood of the guillotine.
+After a short journey, in November, 1792,
+Vienna afforded him a safe retreat which he
+never afterwards left. It was not long before
+the French were masters of the Rhine. Maximilian
+Francis was obliged to flee, and thus
+every prospect of Beethoven’s returning home
+was lost.</p>
+
+<p>It now became imperative that he should
+take care of himself. His two brothers were
+provided for—Karl was a musician and Johann
+an apothecary. They soon followed him
+to Vienna, where it was not long before they
+renewed the scenes of his home life in Bonn.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>
+But his own constant endeavor was to be the
+creative artist that, as he became more firmly
+convinced every day, he was born to be. His
+studies under Haydn, then under Schenk, with
+whom the readers of the Life of Mozart are
+familiar from his connection with the opera of
+the <i>Magic Flute</i>, afterwards under the dry-as-dust
+Albrechtsberger, the teacher of counterpoint,
+and even under Mozart’s deadly enemy,
+Salieri—were earnestly and zealously pursued,
+as is evident from what he has left after him.
+But even now his mind was too richly developed
+and his fancy too lofty to learn anything
+except by independent action. Ten of
+Beethoven’s works date from the time he lived
+in Bonn; but, during his first sojourn in
+Vienna, compositions flowed in profusion from
+his pen, and we cannot but suppose that the
+germs of many of these last were sown during
+the period of his virtuosoship in Bonn. We
+conclude this chapter with a list of the works
+here referred to.</p>
+
+<p>Besides his first attempts at musical composition
+already mentioned, a concerto for the
+piano written in 1784, and three quartets for
+the piano written in 1785, which were afterwards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>
+made use of in the sonatas op. 2, we
+must add, as certainly dating from this period
+of Beethoven’s life in Bonn, a ballet by Count
+Waldstein (1791), a trio for the piano in E
+flat, the eight songs of op. 52, which appeared
+in 1805, two arias, one of which occurs in this
+op. as Goethe’s <i>Mailied</i>, a part of the Bagatellen
+op. 33 which appeared in 1803, the two
+preludes op. 39, a minuet published in 1803,
+the variations <i>Vieni Amore</i> (1790), a funeral
+cantata on the death of Joseph II. (1790), and
+one on that of Leopold II. (1792), the last of
+which was submitted to Haydn and which he
+thought a great deal of—both of these latter
+compositions are lost—an allegro and minuet
+for two flutes, a rondino for reed instruments
+and the string trio op. 3 which appeared in
+1796.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to these, there are, in all probability,
+many other compositions which were
+completed during Beethoven’s first sojourn in
+Vienna, and published at a still later date; the
+octet op. 103, after which the quintet op.
+4 was patterned before 1797, the serenade op.
+8, which contained the germ of his nocturne
+op. 42; the Variations op. 66, on <i>Ein Maedchen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>
+oder Weibchen</i>, from the <i>Magic Flute</i>
+(published in 1798); the variations on <i>God
+Save the King</i>, the Romance for the violin, both
+of which appeared in 1805, when Beethoven’s
+brother secretly published much of his music;
+the variation on <i>Se vuol ballare</i> from Mozart’s
+<i>Figaro</i>; the <i>Es War Einmal</i> from Dittersdroff’s
+<i>Little Red Riding Hood</i>, the “See He
+Comes,” the Messias, and a theme by Count
+Waldstein (appeared 1793, 1797), the <i>Easy
+Sonata</i> in C major, dedicated to Eleonore von
+Breuning; the prelude in F minor (appeared
+in 1805), and the sextet for wind instruments,
+op. 71, which appeared in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>In his twenty-third year, Mozart could point
+to three hundred works which he had composed,
+among them the poetical sonatas of his
+youth. How little of sunshine and leisure
+must there have been in a life which, spite of
+its extraordinary intellectual wealth and activity,
+reaped so little fruit! And even if we
+fix the date when the three trios op. 1, were
+composed in this period, when Beethoven was
+for the first time taught the meaning of the
+world and history, by the stormy movements
+of the last decade of the last century; and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>
+admit that the two concertos for the piano
+(op. 19 and op. 15) owe their origin to the
+wonderful fantasias with which he charmed
+the hearts and minds of the people of Bonn
+at that time, yet how little did he achieve!
+This fact is the most convincing proof of the
+truth of Beethoven’s own assertion, that fortune
+did not favor him in Bonn. Leaving
+his musical training out of consideration,
+Beethoven’s youth was not a very happy one.
+Seldom was it brightened for any length of
+time by the smiles of joy.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1795-1806.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE EROICA AND FIDELIO.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Music in Vienna—Society in Vienna—Beethoven’s Dedications—Lichnowsky—The
+Eroica and Fidelio—Beethoven’s First
+Great Exploits—Plans for Future Work—Decides to Remove
+to the North—New Compositions—His Improvisations—Disappointment
+in North Germany—Prince Louis
+Ferdinand—Makes His Home in Austria—Neglects His
+Health—His Deafness—Origin of the Eroica—Napoleon I—Bernadotte—The
+Symphony in C Minor—His Deafness
+Again—Thoughts of Marriage—The Guicciardi Family—Meaning
+of His Music—His “Will”—Disappointment—Meaning
+of the Eroica and Fidelio—The Lenore Overture—Other
+Compositions.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> golden age of music in Vienna had not
+passed away when Beethoven came to that
+city. Not the court, but the wealthy nobility,
+and a great many circles of the cultured found
+in music the very soul of their intellectual life
+and of a nobler existence. A consequence of
+this was that more attention was paid to chamber
+music than any other; and we accordingly
+find that the greater number of Beethoven’s
+compositions, written at this period, are of that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>
+style of music. Their very dedications tell us
+much of the social circles of Vienna, and of
+the persons who graced them.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, we have the three trios op. 1,
+dedicated to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky.
+The man who had been the pupil and friend
+of Mozart might be glad, indeed, to see a substitute
+found so soon for that departed genius.
+A quartet consisting of the able artists
+Schuppanzigh, Sina, Weiss and Kraft, played
+at his house every Friday. Dr. Wegeler informs
+us that Beethoven, in 1794, lived with
+the Prince, who, at a later date, paid him a
+salary of twelve hundred marks. The variations
+on <i>Seht er Kommt</i>, (See he comes) 1797,
+were dedicated to his consort, the Princess
+Christiane, <i>nee</i> Thun. She prized Beethoven
+very highly, and, as he once said of her himself,
+would have liked to encase him in glass,
+that he might be screened from the defiling
+breath and touch of the unworthy. The first
+three sonatas op. 2 are dedicated to J. Haydn,
+and they introduce us to his special patron,
+the Prince Esterhazy, with whom Beethoven
+was not very intimate, although the commission
+to write the mass op. 86 was given by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>
+Nicholas Esterhazy. The quartet op. 4, as
+well as the sonatas for violin, op. 23 and 24
+(1800), and the string quintet op. 29 (1801),
+are dedicated to Count Fries. There is much
+in Beethoven’s life to show that he was on
+terms of close friendship with this rich “merchant.”
+The sonata op. 7 (1797), is dedicated
+to Countess Keglevics. The first concerto,
+which was finished in 1794, is dedicated to the
+same person, then known as Princess Odescalchi.
+The trios op. 9, as well as the brilliant
+sonata op. 22, belong, by right of dedication,
+to the Russian Count Browne, whom Beethoven
+himself called <i>le premier Mecene de sa muse</i>,
+and the sonatas op. 10 (1798), to his consort.
+To the Countess von Thun, he dedicated the
+trio op. 11, composed the same year, and the
+sonatas op. 12, to Salieri, one of his teachers
+in Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>How highly Beethoven esteemed Lichnowsky
+is evidenced by the dedication to him of
+op. 14, the <i>Pathetique</i> (1799). In it we
+find the earliest expression of Beethoven’s
+view of music as a voice speaking to man’s
+innermost nature, calling to him to live a
+higher life. To Lichnowsky, likewise, was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>
+dedicated the sonata op. 26 with the beautiful
+funeral march (1802). The two lovely sonatas
+op. 14 of the year 1799, as well as the sonata
+for the horn, op. 17 (1800), are dedicated to
+the Countess Braun, whose husband gave
+Beethoven, some years after, the commission
+for the <i>Fidelio</i>; and the quintet op. 16 which
+was finished in 1797 to Prince Schwarzenberg.
+When we connect the name of Prince
+Lobkowitz with the first quartets op. 18, composed
+in 1797-1800; that of Baron von
+Swieten the lover of the well-tempered clavichord
+with the first symphony op. 21 (1800),
+that of the learned von Sonnenfels with the so-called
+pastoral sonata op. 28 (1801), we can see
+the force of the remark made by J. F.
+Reichart, that the Austrian nobility of this
+period loved and appreciated music better probably
+than any other in the history of the
+world. That they did not continue to do so
+is due entirely to the fact of the general disturbance
+of their pecuniary circumstances consequent
+on the wars which came to an end
+only in 1815, and which diminished their favorable
+influence on the cultivation of the art of
+music. But our artist had all the advantages<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>
+of this noble patronage. He spared no pains
+nor sacrifice to profit by it. But his mind
+could not rest in the mere enjoyment of
+music. It sought other and higher spheres.
+His art was destined to absorb into itself the
+whole world of culture, to take an active part
+in the march of history and co-operate in giving
+expression to the ideas of life. The first
+real exploits of our artist were the <i>Eroica</i> and
+the <i>Fidelio</i> with the Leonore overture; but
+the path which led to them was one on which
+those immediately surrounding him could not
+very well follow him, and one which subsequently
+isolated him personally more and more
+from his fellow men.</p>
+
+<p>It was an ill-defined longing for this starry
+path of a higher intellectual existence which
+brought him to the north of Germany, to
+Berlin, after he had finished the principal
+parts of the course in music under Haydn,
+Schenk and Albrechtsberger. Not that he
+did not meet with recognition and remuneration
+in his new home. But, after all, the
+recognition and remuneration he met with
+there were such as a virtuoso might expect.
+For the present, neither the public nor music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>
+publishers would have much to do with his
+compositions. Writing to Schiller’s wife, the
+young Bonn professor, Fischenich, says of
+him: “So far as my acquaintance with him
+goes, he is made for the great and the sublime.
+Haydn has said that he would give him great
+operas, and soon be compelled himself to stop
+composing.” He informs her, at the same
+time, that Beethoven was going to set her husband’s
+Hymn to Joy—<i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—to
+music. We thus see that he, even
+now, harbored those great ideas which engaged
+him at the close of his labors, in the composition
+of the Ninth Symphony. There were as
+yet but few traces to be found in Vienna of
+the intellectual awakening to which Germany
+is indebted for its earliest classical literature,
+and the period of its great thinkers in the west
+and the north. On the other hand, Beethoven’s
+own mind was too full of the “storm and
+stress” to be able to appreciate the beautiful
+harmony and the warmth which had made
+such phenomena as Haydn and Mozart possible
+in South-German Austria. But in the
+North, the memory of “old Fritz” still lived;
+there the stern rule of mind and conscience,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>
+generated by Protestantism, still prevailed,
+while the firm frame-work of his own art, the
+counterpoint of the great Bach, the “first
+father of harmony,” as he calls him himself,
+was there preserved, apparently, in its full
+strength. In addition to all this, the court
+there was fond of music, and King Frederick
+William II had endeavored to keep Mozart,
+the greatest master of his time, in Berlin;
+while Beethoven, since the Elector’s flight
+from Bonn, had no further prospects in his
+home on the Rhine. He, therefore, decided
+to remove to the North.</p>
+
+<p>We find him on his journey thither at the
+beginning of 1796. “My music secures me
+friends and regard—what more do I want?”
+he writes from Prague to his brother Johann,
+who, in the meantime, had entered into the
+employment of an apothecary in Vienna. He
+here composed the aria <i>Ah Perfido</i> (op. 65).
+On his way to Berlin he passed through
+Dresden and Leipzig, but of his stay in these
+two cities, we have no information. The king
+received him very graciously; he played a
+few times at court and composed the sonatas
+for cello, op. 5, because the king himself played<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>
+the violincello. The very first impression received
+by Beethoven seems to have been decisive.
+K. Czerny, to whom he taught the
+piano, tells us something from his own recollection
+and observation about him, which is
+very characteristic of the man, and shows how
+sorely disappointed he felt in his most ardent
+expectations in Berlin. He says: “His improvisation
+was very brilliant, astonishing in
+the highest degree.... No matter in what
+society he was thrown, he made such an impression
+on all his hearers that it frequently
+happened that not a dry eye was to be seen,
+while many broke into sobs. There was something
+wonderful in his expression, besides the
+beauty and originality of his ideas, and the
+highly intellectual way he had of presenting
+them. When he had finished an improvisation
+of this kind he could break out into a fit
+of loud laughter and ridicule his hearers on the
+emotions he had excited. At times he even felt
+injured by those signs of sympathy. ‘Who,’
+he asked, ‘can live among such spoiled children?’
+and for that reason alone he once declined
+an invitation extended to him by the
+king of Prussia, after an improvisation of this
+kind.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>Beethoven was doomed to a disappointment
+of a very peculiar kind here. Instead of the
+manliness of character which he, coming from
+the softer South, expected to find in the North,
+he was confronted with a voluptuous luxury
+to which his art was only a handmaid, and
+with an apparent surfeit of music, the natural
+outgrowth of the French influence due to Voltaire’s
+residence in Berlin. Such was not the
+spirit of the new era which animated himself,
+and for the operation of which he was seeking a
+proper theater of action. The king himself
+did all in his power to make Gluck and
+Mozart settle in Berlin, and Handel’s oratorios
+were played even at the court concerts. But
+how could a man like Beethoven have worked
+side by side with the ruling leaders in music—with
+a Himmel and a Rhigini? The only person
+in Berlin who seemed to Beethoven a man,
+in the full sense of the word, was Prince Louis
+Ferdinand. With genuine frankness, he remarked
+of the prince’s playing that “it was
+not kingly or princely, but only that of a good
+piano player.” But it is probable that from
+the prince he borrowed the chivalric and, at
+the same time, poetico-enthusiastic character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>
+found in his third concerto (op. 37), which was
+finished in 1800 and dedicated to the prince,
+“the most human of human beings.”</p>
+
+<p>He played twice in the Singing Academy
+before its conductor, Fasch, and his successor,
+Zelter, Goethe’s well-known friend, when he
+again brought the tears to the eyes of his
+hearers. But he clearly saw from the example
+of these two principal representatives of
+the more serious taste for music in Berlin, that
+it was not Bach’s spirit which he was in search
+of that ruled there, but only a caricature of
+it; and this last was by no means a counterpoise
+to the Italian style of music, which still
+held absolute sway. He returned to Vienna
+disappointed in every respect, but with all the
+greater confidence in himself. He never again
+left Austria for good. It became the scene of
+his grandest achievements, and it was not long
+before their history began.</p>
+
+<p>In a small memorandum book used by
+Beethoven on his journey from Bonn to
+Vienna, we find the following passage: “Take
+courage. Spite of all physical weakness, my
+mind shall rule. I have reached my twenty-fifth
+year, and must now be all that I can be.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>
+Nothing must be left undone.” The father
+always represented Beethoven to be younger
+than he really was. Even in 1810, the son
+would not admit that he was forty years of age.
+The words quoted above must, therefore, have
+been written in the winter of 1796 or 1797;
+and this fact invests them with a greater significance
+than they would otherwise possess;
+for our artist now saw that, without the shadow
+of a doubt, Austria and Vienna were to be his
+abiding places; and he, therefore, strained
+every nerve, regardless of what the consequences
+might be, “to be a great man sometime;”
+that is, to accomplish something really good in
+music. This regardlessness of consequences
+manifested itself especially in the little care he
+seemed to take of his physical well-being. A
+friend, who had every opportunity to observe
+him, Baron von Zmeskall, informs us that
+“in the summer of 1796, he came home
+almost overpowered by the heat, tore open the
+doors and windows of the house, took off his
+coat and vest and seated himself at an open
+window to cool himself. The consequence of
+his imprudence was a dangerous illness, which
+ultimately settled on the organs of hearing.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>
+From this time his deafness kept on increasing.”
+It is possible that the first symptoms
+of his deafness did not appear as early as
+1796; but certain it is, that it dates back into
+the last decade of the last century, that it was
+brought about by heedlessness of his health, and
+that it became a severe tax on his moral courage.
+His genius was so absorbed in his music,
+that he too frequently forgot to take care of the
+physical man. In November, 1796, Stephan
+von Breuning remarked of him, that “his
+travels had contributed to mature his character;
+that he was a better judge of men, and
+had learned to appreciate the value, but, at the
+same time, the rarity of good friends.” The
+hard trials of life had added to the earnestness
+of his disposition, and he was awakening to a
+full sense of what his own duty in this world
+was. This leads us to the first great and memorable
+work of his genius—to the <i>Eroica</i>, followed
+soon after by the symphony in C minor.</p>
+
+<p>When, in the year 1806, one of his friends
+informed Beethoven of Napoleon’s victory at
+Jena, he exclaimed: “It’s a pity that I do not
+understand the art of war as well as I do the
+art of music. If I did I certainly would conquer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>
+him.” These words express a rivalry
+almost personal in its nature, and could have
+been spoken only by a fool or by a man of
+power not unlike that of Napoleon himself.
+And, indeed, leaving out of consideration men
+of genius like Goethe and Schiller, whose
+fame had been long established on a firm
+foundation, there were among his contemporaries
+men of sovereign ambition, only one
+person, Napoleon Bonaparte, able to make any
+great impression on a man who had chosen
+for his motto: “Power is the moral code of
+men who distinguish themselves above others;
+and it is mine, too.” A series of the most
+brilliant victories was achieved up to 1798 by
+the General of the glorious French Republic,
+who was of the same age as Beethoven. General
+Bernadotte, whose descendants occupy the
+throne of Sweden in our day, had participated
+in those victories. Bernadotte was the French
+Ambassador to Vienna in the beginning of
+1798. He was young; by his origin he belonged
+to the middle class; he was the representative
+of the Republic, and could, therefore, indulge,
+unconstrained, in personal intercourse
+with whomsoever he pleased.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>The celebrated violinist, Rudolph Kreutzer,
+to whom Beethoven’s <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op.
+47) is dedicated, was one of his retinue. It
+was very natural that once Bernadotte and
+Kreutzer became acquainted with Beethoven,
+their intercourse with him and their friendship
+for him, should have been more than
+usually intimate. Bernadotte, who was sincerely
+devoted to Napoleon, and who must
+have felt himself drawn still more closely to
+Beethoven, because of his enthusiasm for the
+general, suggested to him the idea of celebrating
+the exploits of his hero by a symphony.
+Beethoven so informed his amanuensis, Schindler,
+in 1823, and his account is corroborated
+by other facts, that such was the first impulse
+to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.</p>
+
+<p>But the advocate of power was destined soon
+to swell to the proportions of the hero of intellectual
+courage. “For thus does fate knock
+at the gates.” Beethoven used these words in
+1823, in speaking “with uncontrollable enthusiasm”
+of that wonderful <i>motive</i> at the
+opening of the symphony in C minor. The
+last movement of the work, the fanfare-like
+<i>finale</i>, so expressive of the joy of victory,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>
+shows that he here described a victory indeed,
+the surmounting of the obstacles and darkness
+of life, even if those obstacles and that darkness
+consisted only of “the infirmities of the
+body.” The sketches of this movement, however,
+occur in the draft of the quartet op. 18,
+and hence must have been noted down before
+the year 1800! But the fact that the melody
+of the <i>adagio</i> was also found in that sketch
+shows that he was even then as certain of
+mastering sorrow, as he was conscious of the
+presence of the “demon in his ears,” and of
+the sad prospect of a “wretched” and lonely
+future—a prospect which stirred him to the
+very depths of his soul.</p>
+
+<p>But it was years before these <i>motives</i> took
+shape in his mind. To do justice to the great
+ideas to which they give expression, to the
+heroic victory of power and will over whatever
+opposes them, he had to concentrate and
+strengthen all his powers of mind and heart,
+and to develop his talents by long exercise.
+The portraiture of the struggles and of the
+artistic creations of the next succeeding years
+constitutes the transition to those first great
+heroic deeds—a transition which must be understood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>
+by all who would understand Beethoven’s
+music.</p>
+
+<p>The Napoleonic way in which Beethoven,
+at the close of the last century, outgeneraled
+all the most celebrated virtuosos of the time in
+Vienna and in Europe, is attested by his triumph
+over the renowned pianist Woelffl, in
+1799, and his defeat of Steibelt, in 1800. But
+he did still more towards achieving success by
+his works. His numerous variations won over
+to him many a fair player of the piano, while
+his <i>Adelaide</i>, which appeared in 1797, gained
+for him the hearts of all persons of fine feeling;
+so that Wegeler may have told the simple
+truth, when he wrote: “Beethoven was never,
+at least so long as I lived in Vienna (1794-96),
+without a love affair; and he occasionally made
+a conquest which it would have been very hard,
+if not impossible, for many a handsome Adonis
+to have made.” The “ugly,” pock-marked
+man, with the piercing eyes, was possessed
+of a power and beauty more attractive than
+any mere physical charms. And then, there
+was the charm of his sonatas: op. 7, with the
+funeral song in <i>adagio</i>, which he is said to
+have written in a tempest of “passionate feeling”;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>
+of op. 10, with its genuine masculine
+profile; of the revolutionary sonata in C minor,
+with the mysterious struggle in the <i>allegretto</i>
+in No. II., and the brilliant exultation of victory
+in the <i>allegro</i> in No. III., the tragic song of
+the <i>largo</i>, the gentle grace of the minuet—here
+used exceptionally in the place of the <i>scherzo</i>,
+as we find it already in op. 1; and, last of all,
+the droll question of little Snub Nose, in the
+<i>finale</i>. And yet these were followed by the
+<i>Pathetique</i>, with its exquisite and enrapturing
+<i>adagio</i>, and the two beautiful love songs, op.
+14; by the six quartets, op. 18, in which he
+offered to a society of friends of his art, true
+songs of the soul and pictures of life overflowing;
+by the <i>adagio</i> of No. I, another Romeo-and-Juliet
+grave scene; by the <i>adagio</i> of No.
+VI., descriptive of the melancholy which, even
+now, began to gather its dark clouds about
+Beethoven himself, whose breast was so well
+attuned to joy. The descriptive septet (op.
+20, 1800,) and the first symphony (op. 21),
+sketched after the style of Haydn, but painted
+with Mozart’s pencil, are the last scenes in
+what we may call Beethoven’s older life, which
+closed with the eighteenth century. The beginning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>
+of the nineteenth opened a new world
+to our artist.</p>
+
+<p>The new world thus opened to Beethoven,
+and the manner in which he himself conceived
+it, may be best described in Schiller’s magnificent
+verses:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Wie schön, O Mensch, mit deinem Palmenzweige</div>
+<div class="verse">Stehst du an des Jahrhunderts Neige,</div>
+<div class="verse">In edler stolzer Männlichkeit!</div>
+<div class="verse">Mit aufgeschlossnem Sinn, mit Geistesfülle,</div>
+<div class="verse">Voll milden Ernsts, in thatenreicher Stille,</div>
+<div class="verse">Der reifste Sohn der Zeit.</div>
+<div class="verse">Frei durch Vernunft, stark durch Gesetze,</div>
+<div class="verse">Durch Sanftmuth gross und reich durch Schätze,</div>
+<div class="verse">Die lange Zeit dein Busen dir verschwieg.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And now began for Beethoven a period of
+severe trials, brought upon him by himself.
+Absorbed in work, he neglected to take sufficient
+care of his physical health. His trouble
+with his hearing was increasing, but he paid no
+attention to it. His carelessness in this regard
+reduced him to a condition in which he
+would have found no alleviation and no joy,
+were it not for the inexhaustible resources he
+possessed within himself.</p>
+
+<p>But to understand him fully, we must read
+what he wrote himself, in June, 1801, to the
+“best of human kind,” his friend Amenda, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>
+Kurland, who had left Vienna two years before.
+He says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Your own dear Beethoven is very unhappy. He
+is in conflict with nature and with God. Many and
+many a time have I cursed Him because He has made
+His creatures the victims of the smallest accidents in
+nature, and this to such an extent that what promises
+to be best and most beautiful in life, is destroyed.
+You must know that what was most precious to me,
+my hearing, has been, in great part, lost. How sad
+my life is! All that was dear to me, all that I loved
+is gone! How happy would I now be, if I could only
+hear as I used to hear! If I could, I would fly to
+thee; but as it is, I must stay away. My best years
+will fly, and I shall not have fulfilled the promise of
+my youth, nor accomplish in my art what I fondly
+hoped I would. I must now take refuge in the sadness
+of resignation.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have here the words to the long-drawn
+funereal tones of a song as we find it at the
+beginning of the celebrated C sharp minor
+(<i>Mondschein</i>) sonata op. 27 No. II, which
+belongs to this period. The direct incentive
+to its composition was Seume’s poem, <i>die Beterin</i>
+in which he gives us a description of a
+daughter praying for her noble father, who has
+been condemned to death. But in this painful
+struggle with self, we also hear the storm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>
+of passion, in words as well as in tones. Beethoven’s
+life at this time was one of sorrow.
+He writes: “I can say that I am living a
+miserable life. I have more than once execrated
+my existence. But if possible I shall
+bid defiance to fate, although there will be, I
+know, moments in my life when I shall be
+God’s most unhappy creature.” The thunders
+of power may be heard in the <i>finale</i> of
+that sonata. When it was published, the following
+year, its dedication ran: <i>Alla damigella
+contessa Giulietta Guicciardi</i>. The
+celebrated Giulietta! Her friendship was,
+indeed, a cheering ray of sunshine in Beethoven’s
+“wretched life” at this time. As he
+writes himself in the fall of the year 1801:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“My life is somewhat pleasanter now. I move about
+among men more than I used to. I am indebted for
+this change for the better to a lovely, charming girl
+who loves me and is loved by me. For two years now
+I have had once more some moments of happiness, and
+for the first time in my life I feel that marriage might
+make one happy. Unfortunately, she does not belong
+to my social circle. But if I cannot get married at
+the present time, I shall have to mix more among
+men.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The family of the imperial counsellor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>
+Count Guicciardi, originally from Modena,
+was one of the families of the higher class with
+whom Beethoven had formed an intimate acquaintance
+through his art. Guicciardi’s wife
+belonged to the Hungarian family of the
+Brunswicks, who were likewise very friendly
+to Beethoven. We shall yet have something
+to say of the Countess Theresa Brunswick, for
+whom and whose sister, the charming Countess
+Deym, the variations for four hands on <i>Ich
+denke dein</i>, were written in 1800. Countess
+Giulietta was in her sixteenth year, and as
+good as betrothed to Count Gallenberg, a
+musician and composer of ballet music. He
+was, however, in such pecuniary straits that
+Beethoven had, on one occasion, to come to
+his assistance through a friend. The young
+girl did not give any serious thought to a
+union with the Count, although he belonged
+to her own social circle. The attractions of
+a genuine love had more charms for her. This
+same true, genuine love possessed Beethoven’s
+soul. He writes to his friend Wegeler:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“I feel that my youth is only now beginning. Was
+I not always a sickly man? But, for a time, my physical
+strength has been increasing more than ever before,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>
+and the same is true of my mental power. With
+every succeeding day I approach nearer to the goal
+which I feel, but cannot describe. Thus only can I
+live. No rest! I know of no repose but sleep, and it
+sorely pains me that I have now to allot more time to
+sleep than was once necessary. Let me be only half
+freed from my trouble and then, a perfectly mature
+man, I shall come to you and renew our old friendship.
+You must see me as happy as it is given me to be
+here below. You must not see me unhappy; that is
+more than I could bear. I shall struggle manfully
+with fate, and be sure, it will not overcome me entirely.
+O, how beautiful it would be to live life over a
+thousand times! But I am not made for a quiet life.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>To this, Beethoven’s elasticity of soul, which
+lifted him to the height of joy and of intellectual
+delight, we are indebted for those works
+of his which are models of poetic creation.
+What became of the traditional form of the
+sonata after Beethoven began to tell in song
+the meaning of joy and pain and of their
+wonderful admixture, as he did in the sonata
+op. 31, No. II, the first movement of which
+looks as if thrown off with a single stroke of
+the pen? There are the thoughtful questionings
+of fate in the opening chord; the
+jubilant, tempestuous enjoyment of pleasure;
+the expression of woe, more terrible in anticipation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>
+than realization, when misery
+wrings a cry of pain from him, and he breaks
+out in recitative—a form of art never before
+coupled with an instrument, but which is here
+more eloquent than words. Sorrow, joy and
+genius have now transformed the mere
+musician into the artist and the poet. Beethoven,
+as the master of the intellectual
+world of tones, began his career with this
+sonata in D minor. From this time forward,
+his every piece is a psychological picture
+of life. The form of the sonata had now
+fully developed the intellectual germ which in
+it lay. It is no longer mere form, but a finite
+vessel holding an infinite intellectual treasure
+as its contents. Even the separate parts of it,
+although retained as usual, are henceforth
+only phases and stages of the development of
+that intellectual treasure. They are acts of a
+drama played in the recesses of a human soul—in
+the soul of a man who is forced to taste,
+while still he laughs in his melancholy, the
+tragic contents of the cup of human life during
+every moment of his existence. For thus
+it was now with Beethoven. The deepest sorrow
+endows him with untrammeled serenity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>
+of mind. Darkness becomes to him the parent
+of a higher light. A humor that weeps
+through its smiles is henceforth his.</p>
+
+<p>On this sonata followed a symphony with
+the real Beethoven flavor, the second symphony
+(op. 36). It had its origin in the
+“sublime feeling” which “animated” him in
+the beautiful summer days of 1802; as had
+also the brilliant <i>Kreutzer Sonata</i> (op. 47).
+This summer of 1802 is a memorable one in
+Beethoven’s life. It brought with it the
+severest trials of his courage as a man. These
+trials transformed him into a hero, and were
+the incentives to the composition of the <i>Eroica</i>.
+To this period belongs the so-called “Heiligenstadt
+Will,” which discloses to us the inmost
+depths of Beethoven’s soul.</p>
+
+<p>His physician had ordered him in October,
+1802, to the village of Heiligenstadt, near
+Vienna, in a condition of the utmost hopelessness.
+Beethoven thought that death was not
+far off, and, anxious to justify himself before
+posterity, he wrote from that place: “O, you
+men, who think or say that I am malignant,
+obstinate or misanthropic, what an injustice
+you do me! You know not the secret cause of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>
+what you think you see. From childhood up,
+my heart and mind have been bent upon the
+accomplishment of great deeds; I was ever
+moved thereto by the feeling of benevolence.
+To accomplish such deeds I was always disposed.
+But consider that for six—yes, six
+whole years, I have been in a most unfortunate
+condition—a condition which has been made
+worse by the stupidity of my physicians; that
+my hopes, from year to year, of being cured
+have been disappointed, and that at last there
+lies before me the prospect of permanent ill.
+Born with an active and even fiery temperament,
+a lover of the distractions of society, I
+had to live in a state of isolation from all men.
+How humbled I felt when a person standing
+near me could hear a flute that was playing in
+the distance, while I could hear nothing!
+Experiences like this brought me to the very
+verge of despair, and I came very near ending
+my own life. Art alone held me back. It
+seemed to me impossible that I should leave
+the world until I had accomplished all for
+which I felt myself so well fitted. O God,
+thou seest my heart. Thou seest that it harbors
+beneficence and love for human kind. O<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>
+you men, when you read this, remember that
+you have wronged me, and let the unfortunate
+rejoice to find one of their number who, spite
+of the obstacles put in his way by nature, did
+all in his power to be admitted into the ranks
+of artists and men worthy of the name.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, too, we find in his music the
+first traces of such appeals to the Godhead. The
+text of the six songs of Gellert, op. 48, which
+appeared in 1803, are of a religious nature.
+But, in the domain of religion, our artist had
+not yet risen to his full height. He is still preponderantly
+the musician of life, force and of
+the brilliant play of the intellect; and his compositions
+are still pre-eminently works of art
+and of the fancy. The <i>Eroica</i> (op. 55), which
+was finished in 1803, possessed these characteristics
+in the highest sense of the word. And now
+we may understand what he felt himself, as he
+said in his “Will,” fitted to accomplish, as
+well as the mysterious conversation he had in
+1823, with his amanuensis, Schindler, in which
+he speaks of this period of his life, and of
+Giulietta, who had now long been the Countess
+Gallenberg, and who had, a short time before,
+returned from Naples, where her husband had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>
+acted as director of the theater for years.
+The conversation in question begins thus: It
+was held in the French language—</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven—“She was mine before she was
+her husband’s or Italy’s, and she paid me a
+visit, bathed in tears; but I despised her.”</p>
+
+<p>Schindler—“By Hercules!”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven—“If I had parted in that way
+with my strength, as well as my life, what
+would have remained to me for nobler and better
+things?”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven had said of himself that he
+had something to do in the world besides marrying.
+His ideal was not to live in such
+cramped circumstances. He knew of “nobler
+and better things.” Yet it seems that he offered
+his hand to the “lovely, charming girl”
+in this year 1803, when he began to have a
+prospect of permanently bettering his condition,
+and that Giulietta was not disinclined to
+marry him. But family considerations prevented
+the decisive step; and she was married
+in the fall of the same year to Count Gallenberg.
+“Despising” her—whether rightly or
+wrongly we have no means of determining,
+but we do know that she was not happy—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span>
+turned to the performance of the
+great tasks for which he felt himself fitted.</p>
+
+<p>Our artist’s life, like that of a thousand
+others, thus proves the truth of the old saying:
+the course of true love never did run smooth.
+In his earlier biographies this episode has been
+treated as a great and even tragic event, because
+that remarkable letter to his “immortal
+love,” of which we shall yet have occasion to
+speak, was erroneously supposed to be addressed
+to Countess Guicciardi and to refer to
+this circumstance in his life. But although
+no more than an episode, Beethoven could
+here have mastered his feelings only by the
+full consciousness he now possessed of the duty
+he owed to his genius. As Liszt says, <i>le genie
+oblige</i>, and Beethoven felt that it was a duty
+genius owed to mankind to sacrifice mere ambition
+and even the heartfelt happiness that is
+born of love. The day before Guilietta’s
+wedding, he wrote to Macco, the painter:
+“You paint, and I shall compose music. In
+this way, we shall be immortal; yes, perhaps
+live forever.” And that our artist had some
+right to lay claim to such immortality is
+proved not only by his sonatas, which are little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>
+poems in themselves, by his songs and quartets,
+but by mighty and memorable works which
+reflect the world-soul. He was working on
+that grand creation, the <i>Eroica</i>. This sacrifice
+of his feelings may have been, and most
+likely was, forced upon him by the accident
+of the uncertainty of his position in life, but
+that it was not made without a struggle is
+manifest from his expression of contempt for
+Giulietta—<i>mais je la méprisais</i> but still more
+from the ideal of the value of faithful love
+which now became rooted in his soul, and
+which we see reflected in the <i>Fidelio</i>, that
+immediately followed the <i>Eroica</i>, and which
+presents us with the most beautiful of all
+female characters. In its composition, we find
+united that warmth of heart and that intellectual
+in sight so peculiarly Beethoven’s own, and
+which he so beautifully embodied in his art.
+On the golden background of his enthusiasm
+for “nobler and better things,” the sweet face
+of Leonore stands out in bold relief as the
+perfect type of human beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven borrowed the tones of the <i>Eroica</i>
+from the elevating nature of humanitarian
+ideas transferred to the region of public life.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>
+The hero enters, touching with giant hands
+the foundations of human existence, which he
+wants to ameliorate by renewing them. And,
+indeed, the First Consul of the French Republic
+might very well suggest to him, at the beginning
+of this century, how heroes act, the
+jubilation with which nations greet them,
+how great existing institutions oppose their
+progress, and, finally, overthrow them in their
+might. The first movement of the <i>Eroica</i> describes
+the most varied events in the life of
+such a hero with a fullness of episode almost
+destructive of its form. In its climax, the real
+work of the hero is seen; the old order of
+things is heard crumbling and falling to pieces
+in its powerful and terrific syncopations and
+dissonant chords, to make place for a new existence,
+one more worthy of human beings.
+But, at the close of the movement, the victorious
+hero exultingly yokes the new order of
+things to his chariot. This is history, the
+world’s history in tones; and, for its sake, we
+may for the moment shroud the dearest longings
+of the heart in the dark robes of resignation.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven’s fancy as an artist fully comprehended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>
+the genius of liberty, at this time
+newly born into the world, and a new factor
+in the history of mankind. He understood,
+too, the tragic fate of all heroes—that they are
+destined, like all other mortals, to fall, and,
+though God-commissioned, to die, that their
+works may live and prosper. Bonaparte’s
+history also suggested the rhythm of the sublime
+and solemn step of the funeral march;
+for, since the days of Cæsar and Alexander,
+no man had stepped as did he through the
+spaces of the existing order of things. But
+Beethoven’s poetic fancy soared even now far
+beyond the reality that surrounded him. As
+early as 1802, he wrote to the music dealers in
+Leipzig, now so well known as the publishers
+of the <i>Edition Peters</i>: “Away with you all,
+gentlemen! To propose to me to write such a
+sonata! That might have done in the time
+when the Revolution was at fever heat, but now
+that everything has returned to the old beaten
+path, that Bonaparte has concluded a concordat
+with the Pope, to write such a sonata—away
+with you!” It is not Napoleon, therefore, who
+is here interred. It is not Napoleon for whom
+mankind weeps in the tones of this funeral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>
+march. It is the ever-living, ever-awakening
+hero of humanity, the genius of our race, that
+is solemnly borne to the grave to the rhythm of
+this wonderful march—a march which has in
+it something of the tragic pathos of a Shakespeare
+or an Æschylus. Beethoven in this
+march became a tragic writer of purely instrumental
+music, and gave evidence of that quality
+of soul which made him indifferent to “the
+slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”</p>
+
+<p>The two last movements of the work do not
+convey so powerful an idea of heroic action.
+Was it that his powers of imagination flagged,
+or that the change in Napoleon’s career made
+him disgusted with the hero? We know that
+when, in the spring of 1804, the copy of the
+symphony was finished—the title, proudly
+and characteristically enough bearing only
+two names, “Buonaparte” at the top and
+“Luigi van Beethoven” at the bottom—and
+Beethoven heard of Napoleon’s elevation, he
+said: “Can it be that he is no more than an
+ordinary man? Now he, like others, will
+trample all human rights under foot, serve
+only his ambition and become a tyrant.” He
+tore the title page in two, threw the work on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>
+the floor and did not again look at it for a long
+time. When it appeared in 1806, it was under
+the name of the <i>Sinfonia Eroica</i>, “composed
+to celebrate the memory of a great man.”
+It was dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who
+purchased it and caused it to be performed before
+Prince Louis Ferdinand, in the fall of
+1804. The Prince was so delighted with it
+that he had it played three times the same
+evening in immediate succession, which was a
+very great satisfaction to Beethoven.</p>
+
+<p>There is a oneness of spirit in this instrumental
+fresco painting of a hero who strives
+and suffers for the sake of what is most precious
+to man, and in Beethoven’s only opera, the
+<i>Fidelio</i>, which made the latter the natural
+successor of the <i>Eroica</i>. Florestan dared
+“boldly to tell the truth,” and this, his entering
+the lists for right and freedom, incites his
+faithful wife, Leonore, to a truly heroic deed.
+Disguised in male attire, she enters the prison,
+and, just in the nick of time, casts herself between
+her beloved husband and his murderer.
+Her cry—which has in it much of the heroism
+of death—“kill first his wife,” is a bit of
+history showing the enthusiasm of the ideally<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>
+great, as it is also the most intense dramatic
+representation, in tones, of the full energy of a
+woman’s love.</p>
+
+<p>In a letter to Amenda, in 1801, he wrote:
+“I have composed music of every description,
+except operas and church music.” But even,
+a short time before this, he had something to
+do with the theater. He had written the ballet
+<i>Prometheus</i>, which represents in a sense, the
+history of the creation of man in choreographic
+pictures. The success of this work
+determined Schikaneder, well known to the
+readers of the life of Mozart, and who, at this
+time, had the direction of the newly-built
+theater in Vienna, to engage Beethoven at a
+large annual stipend. When this man, Schikaneder,
+in the same spring of 1803, saw that
+the oratorio <i>Christus am Oelberge</i> (Christ on
+the Mount of Olives) met with good success,
+although more theatrical than spiritual in its
+character, he commissioned him to write an
+opera also. The subject was, probably, <i>Alexander</i>—a
+very suitable one, considering Beethoven’s
+own heroic style, and his feeling at
+the time. But nothing came of it. There
+can be no doubt, however, that a piece which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>
+he had sketched and intended to make a part
+of it, the duet, <i>O Namenlose Freude</i> (O
+Nameless Joy), was afterwards embodied in the
+<i>Fidelio</i>. Beethoven had received a commission
+to write the latter from Baron von Braun, who
+had taken charge of the theater in Vienna, in
+the year 1804.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, both the Abbe Vogler and
+Cherubini were writing for the Viennese. The
+compositions of the latter met with great success,
+and made a powerful impression on Beethoven.
+In these men he met with foes worthy
+of his steel, and inducements great enough to
+lead him to do his very best. His severe heart
+trials and consequent disappointment had
+taught him how lonely he was in the world.
+Breuning wrote of him in 1804: “You have
+no idea, my dear Wegeler, how indescribable,
+and, I might say, horrible an impression his
+partial loss of hearing has made on him....
+What must be the feelings of one with such a
+violent temper, to meet with such a misfortune!
+And then his reserve, and his distrust frequently
+of his best friend!” A subject like
+that of the <i>Fidelio</i> must, of itself, have taken
+strong hold of a man like Beethoven, because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>
+of the powerful scene in which Leonore holds
+her mortal enemy, Pizarro, spell-bound, with
+the pistol in her hand. What must have most
+affected him here, however, was the ideal background
+of suffering for truth and freedom—for
+Pizarro was a tyrant—and the fact that a
+woman had the power that comes of genuine
+fidelity to avert every danger from her beloved
+husband, even at the risk of her own life.
+And Beethoven endowed the work with his
+exalted and almost transfigured background
+of feeling, by means of his music, which here
+depicts the constitution of his own nature, and
+his whole intellectual build. He accurately
+hits the decisive climax of the conflict, and
+gives to the principal actors so much of real
+personal character, that we cannot fail to recognize
+them, and to understand their action
+from their inner feelings. This, in connection
+with a very powerful declamation, is the continuation
+of the dramatic characteristics which
+we greet in the <i>Fidelio</i>. The development of
+the operatic form as such is not further carried
+on in this work. In his pure instrumental
+music, even more than in the <i>Fidelio</i>, Beethoven
+has given form to the language of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>
+soul and to the great hidden springs of action
+of the world and human nature.</p>
+
+<p>A period may come when stricter demands
+may be made on dramatic art, and when, as a
+consequence, this work may not have as much
+charm as it has for us, because of its fragmentary
+character. But be this as it may, in some
+of its details it will always appeal irresistibly
+to the finest feeling. We find in it passages
+like those in Beethoven’s improvisation which
+never failed to draw from his hearers tears of
+real happiness. The greater part of this language
+was, like Mozart’s Cantilene, rich in
+soul. Yet melodies like <i>Komm, Hoffnung, lass
+den letzten Stern</i>, <i>In des Lebens Fruehlingstagen</i>
+and <i>O namen, namenlose Freude</i>, are of
+such a character that “humanity will never
+forget them.” Like the Holy Grail, they furnish
+food and light at the same time, and, like
+certain forces, produce a greater yield in proportion
+as greater demands are made upon
+them. We frequently find in it expressions
+that are simply inimitable, and when this
+work is contemplated we see that it bears evidence
+of a profundity of soul and of a development
+of mind which separate—<i>toto coelo</i>—Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>
+from his predecessors, Mozart not
+excepted. Whole pieces in it are full of the
+deepest and warmest dramatic life, made up of
+the web and woof of the human soul itself.
+Such, for instance, are <i>Wir muessen gleich zu
+Werke schreiten</i>, the chorus of prisoners, the
+picture of Florestan’s dungeon, the digging
+of the grave, and above all the thrilling
+<i>Toet’ erst sein Weib!</i> (kill first his wife). But
+the center of all is, as may be seen from the
+innumerable and most refined traits of the
+music, Leonore, the pattern of heroic fidelity.
+Her character stirred Beethoven to the very
+depths of his soul, for her power of hope and
+her devotion to freedom were his own. The
+work itself was to be called <i>Leonore</i>, as, indeed,
+the first piano-score was called in 1810.</p>
+
+<p>This work has a meaning in the life of our
+artist himself, greater, almost, than its importance
+as a work of art.</p>
+
+<p>The work required, for its completion, only
+the spring and summer of the year 1805. The
+sketches of it show how carefully the file was
+used on its every part. Only the fire of enthusiastic
+devotion was able to smelt the ore
+of the separate arias, duets and terzettoes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>
+which make up the matter of the whole; but
+this it could not do here fully enough to produce
+that natural flow which dramatic taste
+even now demanded. Moreover, the storm of
+war broke upon Vienna and deprived Beethoven’s
+hearers of even the calm of devotion.
+The result was that only the prima donna
+Milder-Hauptmann satisfied the public in the
+character of Leonore. Besides, Beethoven, as
+a composer of purely instrumental music, had
+not paid sufficient attention to the demands of
+the human voice. On the 13th of October,
+1805, Napoleon entered Vienna, and after the
+20th the <i>Fidelio</i> was repeated three times;
+not, however, before the art lovers of Vienna,
+but before an audience composed of French
+officers. It was received with little applause,
+and after the first performance the house
+remained empty. Beethoven withdrew the
+work. But even the critics missed in it at this
+time “that certain splendor of originality
+characteristic of Beethoven’s works.” Our
+artist’s friends now gathered about him to
+induce him to make some abbreviations in the
+opera. This was at the house of Lichnowsky.
+Beethoven was never before seen so much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>
+excited, and were it not for the prayers and
+entreaties of the gentle and tender Princess
+Christiane, he would certainly have agreed to
+nothing. He consented at last to drop a few
+numbers, but it took six full hours to induce
+him to do even this. It is easy to explain this
+fact: the work was the pet child of his brain.
+Breuning now re-arranged the libretto. He
+made the acting more vivacious and Beethoven
+shortened the several pieces still more. The
+work proved more acceptable to the public,
+but Beethoven thought himself surrounded
+by a network of intrigue, and, as he had
+agreed only for a share in the profits, he once
+more withdrew the work. We hear no more
+of it until 1814. We shall see what effect its
+production had when we reach that date in
+Beethoven’s life.</p>
+
+<p>But this re-arrangement led to a new overture
+and to a new poetical expression of the
+subject, to the great <i>Leonoren-Overture</i>, known
+as No. 3, but which is properly No. 2. Beethoven,
+in this overture, lets us hear, as if in
+the voices of thousands, the depth of pain in
+Florestan’s dungeon; the glance of hope that
+flashes across his mind when he thinks of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>
+Leonore; the struggle of love with native fear
+in the heart of the woman; her daring risk of
+her own life for her beloved husband, and in
+the signal of trumpets, the coming of her rescuer;
+the calm joy of the unutterably happy
+husband, as well as the boisterous, stormy joy
+of the prisoners, all of whom get their liberty
+with this one slave; and, last of all, the loudest
+song of praise of freedom and happiness.
+The symphonic poem, <i>Leonore</i>, as a whole, far
+surpasses the dramatic work itself. Together
+with the <i>Eroica</i>, it is the second monumental
+work of Beethoven’s genius in this early
+period of his musical creations, and proves him
+a matured master in his art.</p>
+
+<p>The proud path thus entered on, he never
+left.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the works already mentioned, we
+may, for the sake of completeness, mention the
+following likewise: The <i>Opferlied</i> (1st arrangement),
+<i>Seufzer eines Ungeliebten</i>, variations
+<i>quant’è più bello</i>, about 1795; variations to <i>Nel
+cor più</i> and minuet <i>a la Vigano</i> which appeared
+in 1796; sonata op. 49, I, about 1796; sonata
+for four hands op. 6, the rondo op. 51, I, and
+variations to a Russian dance, in 1797; variations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>
+to a Swiss song and <i>Mich brennt</i>, 1798;
+<i>Gretels Warnung</i>, <i>La partenza</i>, composed in
+1798; variations to the <i>La stessa</i>, <i>Kind, willst
+du</i> and <i>Taendeln und Scherzen</i>, which
+appeared in 1799; sonata op. 49, I, composed
+in 1799; variations in G major, composed in
+1800, serenade op. 25; rondo, op. 51, I; variations,
+<i>Bei Maennern</i> which appeared in 1802;
+terzetto op. 116, sonatas for violin, op. 30,
+variations op. 34 and 35, composed in 1802;
+<i>Glueck der Freundschaft</i>, op. 88 and <i>Zaertliche
+Liebe</i> which appeared in 1803; trio variations
+op. 44 and romance for the violin, op. 40, composed
+in 1803; three marches op. 45, variations
+to “Rule Brittannia,” and the <i>Wachtelschlag</i>,
+1804; sonata op. 53, together with the
+<i>andante</i> in F major, originally belonging to it,
+the <i>triple concerto</i> op. 56, and the sonata op.
+57, begun in 1804, <i>An die Hoffnung</i>, op. 32 and
+trio op. 38, which appeared in 1805; fourth
+concerto op. 58, composed in 1805; trio op. 36,
+sonata op. 34, which appeared in 1806; <i>Empfindungen
+bei Lydiens Untreue</i> belonging
+probably to 1806.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1806-1812.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE SYMPHONY C MINOR—THE PASTORALE AND
+THE SEVENTH SYMPHONIES.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>The Pastorale—Its Composition—Meaning of the Apassionata—Its
+History—Beethoven’s Letter to His “Immortal Loved
+One”—His Own Opinion of the Apassionata—New Acquaintances—Thinks
+of Writing Operas—Court-theater
+Composer—Overture to Coriolanus—The Mass in C., op.
+86—His Sacred Music—The Fidelio in Prague—Music
+for Goethe’s Faust—“Power, the Moral Code”—Power
+Expressed in Beethoven’s Music—Character of His Works
+about this Period—Intercourse with the Malfattis—The
+Cello Sonata, op. 69—Other Compositions and their Meaning—Improvement
+in His Pecuniary Circumstances—Joseph
+Bonaparte—Vienna Fears to Lose Him—Contemplated
+Journey to England—The Seventh Symphony—Wagner
+on the Seventh Symphony—His <i>Heirathspartie</i>—His
+Letter to Bettina—His Estimate of Genius.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Beethoven’s</span> Heiligenstadt Will, written
+in the year 1802, closed with this painful appeal:
+“O thou, Providence, let one day more
+of joy dawn on me. How long have I been a
+stranger to the heartfelt echo of true happiness!
+When, when, O God, can I feel it once
+more in the temple of nature and of man.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>
+Never? No! O, that were too hard!” Our
+artist’s thoughts were thus directed into channels
+which carried him far from the scenes
+immediately surrounding him into regions of
+a higher existence—of an existence which he
+soon described so exquisitely in the language
+of music. The <i>Pastorale</i> which celebrates this
+“Temple of nature” was originally designated
+as No. 5, and was, therefore, intended to be
+completed before the symphony in C minor.
+But it would seem that Beethoven had to go
+through many an internal conflict, the result
+of his great depression of spirits, before he
+could acquire the calmness of mind necessary
+to form a proper conception of the “Peace of
+God in Nature,” and to give it proper form
+and expression in art.</p>
+
+<p>Breuning wrote, on the 2nd of June, 1806,
+that the intrigues about the <i>Fidelio</i> were all
+the more disagreeable to Beethoven because
+the fact that it had not been performed reduced
+him to some pecuniary straits, and that it
+would take all the longer time for him to recover,
+as the treatment he had received deprived
+him of a great deal of his love for his
+work. Yet the first of the quartets, op. 59,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>
+bears the memorandum: “Begun on the 26th
+of May, 1806;” and the fourth symphony
+(op. 60), as well as the violin concerto (op.
+61), also belong to this year. In the meantime
+op. 56, which had been begun some time
+previous, the triple concerto, op. 57, called the
+<i>Apassionata</i>, and op. 58, the fourth concerto,
+were all either continued or finished. What
+wealth there is here—in the number of compositions,
+in their magnitude and in their contents!
+The three quartets are dedicated to
+Count Rasumowsky, who had given Beethoven
+the commission to write them, and who had
+furnished the Russian melodies on which they
+are based. How well the <i>adagio</i> of the second
+of them points us to that higher region in
+which Beethoven now felt himself more and
+more at home. He himself told Czerny that
+that <i>adagio</i> suggested itself to him one night,
+when he was contemplating the starry heavens,
+and thinking of the harmony of the spheres.
+In the serene calmness of these vanishing
+tones, we see the revolution of the stars
+mirrored in all its grandeur. Here all
+pain seems lightened, all passion stilled.
+Yet how both had raged even in the <i>Apassionata</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>
+the draft of which is to be found
+immediately following that of the <i>Fidelio</i>.
+The <i>Apassionata</i> is written in his heart-blood.
+Its tones are cries of excitement the
+most painful. It was finished in the summer,
+and dedicated to Count Franz Brunswick.
+An oil painting of the count’s sister, Countess
+Theresa, was found among Beethoven’s effects,
+after his death. It bore the superscription:
+“To the rare genius, the great artist, the good
+man. From T. B.” It is supposed that the
+letter to his “immortal love,” already referred
+to, was addressed to her—and it is truly a
+letter which gives us a pen-picture of Beethoven’s
+condition of mind at that time, and
+which affords an idea of the “gigantic sweep
+of his ideas.” It was found after his death, together
+with other important papers, in an old
+chest, and is dated on July 6, from a watering
+place in Hungary. It is rightly supposed to
+have been written in the year 1806, in which
+Beethoven paid a visit to the Brunswicks. But,
+be this as it may, it gives evidence of intense
+feeling, and shows that Beethoven now dwelt
+on that sublime height on which all earthly
+desires are silent. It seems also to lead us<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>
+over to the understanding and appreciation of
+Beethoven’s subsequent creations, which henceforth
+gain an ideal character not of this earth.
+We can here touch only on the principal points
+in these letters.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“My angel, my all, my other self.” Thus does he
+begin it on the 6th of July, in the morning. He proceeds:
+“Only a few words to-day, and those in lead-pencil,
+and that your own pencil, dear. Nothing can
+be settled about my dwelling until to-morrow. What
+a wretched loss of time for such trifles! Why
+this deep affliction where necessity speaks? How
+can our love continue to exist except through sacrifice,
+except by limitation of our desires? Can you change
+the fact that you are not entirely mine nor I entirely
+yours? Look out on the beauties of nature, and resign
+yourself to what must be. Love asks everything,
+and rightly so. It does in my case. It does in your
+case. But you forget too easily that I have to live for
+you as well as for myself. Were we entirely one, you
+would feel the pain there is in this as little as I....
+We shall, I trust, soon meet.... I cannot tell you
+to-day what reflections I have made upon my life,
+during the past forty-eight hours. Were our hearts
+always close to one another, I am sure I should make
+no such reflections. My heart is too full to tell you
+much. There are moments when I find that language
+is nothing at all. Cheer up; be my faithful, my only
+pet, my all, as I am all yours. The gods must direct
+the rest in our lives. Thy faithful</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ludwig</span>.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>But, on the same dainty little piece of note
+paper, he continues, for the mail had already
+left:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“You suffer, dearest creature. Wherever I am,
+you are with me. I must try to so arrange it that our
+life may be one. But what, what a life to be thus
+without you! I am pursued by the kindness of men
+which I do not intend to earn, and yet, which I really
+do earn. That a man should humble himself before
+his fellow man, pains me; and when I consider myself
+as a part of the universe, what am I, and who is He
+they call the Most High? And yet here, again, we
+find the divine in that which is human.... No
+matter how great your love for me, my love for you is
+greater still. Never hide yourself from me. Good
+night! Being an invalid, I must go to sleep. Alas,
+that I should be so near and yet so far from you. Is
+not our love a real firmament of heaven? And is it
+not as firm as the foundation of the heavens?”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>He takes up the same piece of paper once
+more:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Good morning, this 7th of July! Even before I rise
+my thoughts fly to you, dear—to you, immortal love, now
+joyfully, now sadly, waiting to see whether the fates will
+hear our prayer. If I shall live at all, it must be with
+you. I am resolved to wander about far away from
+you, until the time comes when I may fly into your
+arms, and say that I belong to you; until I may send
+my soul absolved by you, dear, into the land of spirits.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>
+Yes, unfortunately it must be so. You will be all the
+more composed, since you know how faithful I am to
+you. Another can never possess my heart—never!
+Why, O God, must a man be so widely separated from
+the object of his love? And yet the life I now live in
+Vienna is so wretched! Your love makes me, at
+once, the happiest and the most unfortunate of men.
+At my present age, there should be some uniformity
+in my life; but is such a thing possible in my present
+circumstances? Be patient. Only by the patient
+contemplation of our existence can we gain our object
+and live united. Be patient! love me! How I longed
+and wept for you to-day and yesterday; you, my life,
+my all! Farewell; love me ever, never forget the most
+faithful heart of thy beloved Ludwig. I am ever thine
+and thou forever mine.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>How completely like Beethoven! It was
+during this very summer that he completed
+the <i>Apassionata</i>, which he always considered
+the greatest of his sonatas, at the home of the
+Brunswicks. Can it be said that its language
+is in anything greater than the language of
+this letter? He seems at this time to be nearly
+always possessed by a feeling of melancholy.
+But for this very reason he took refuge more
+than ever in music. It was, indeed, a real
+sanctuary to him, and he refused to open that
+sanctuary to the eyes of strangers, and, least of
+all, to the eyes of enemies. This he very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>
+plainly proved to Prince Lichnowsky during
+the fall. Beethoven had left Hungary and
+was spending some time in Silesia with the
+prince. The latter desired him to play for
+some French officers who were quartered in his
+castle. A violent scene immediately ensued.
+After it was over, Beethoven left the castle.
+He refused to go back with the prince who had
+followed him, but repaired, post haste, back to
+Vienna, in which city the prince’s bust was
+broken to pieces as an expiatory sacrifice. It
+was not long, however, before the old friendship
+of the two was re-established.</p>
+
+<p>In the quartet sketches of this year, we find
+the words: “Just as you can cast yourself here
+into the whirl of society, it is possible to write
+operas spite of all social impediments. Let
+the fact that you do not hear be a mystery no
+longer, even in your music.” This “whirl of
+society” introduces us to some new acquaintances.
+Count Rasumowsky held very brilliant
+soirées, at which the amiable and charming
+wife of his librarian, Marie Bigot, performed
+some of Beethoven’s works in an exquisite
+manner. The playing of the elegant
+and handsome Countess Marie Erdoedy, whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>
+Beethoven himself called his “father confessor,”
+was not inferior to that of Madame
+Bigot. Other patrons of the musical art were
+Madame Dorothea von Ertmann, a charming
+Frankfort lady, and the Malfattis, one of whom
+was Beethoven’s physician. The home of
+Streicher, who had married Nanette Stein,
+daughter of the Augsburg piano-maker, described
+in Mozart’s letter of 1777 in so droll
+a manner, was the rendezvous of lovers of
+music. Nor must we forget to mention Prince
+Lobkowitz and the Emperor’s youngest brother,
+the Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s distinguished
+pupil, who, as our artist himself admitted,
+understood music thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p>The chief value, however, of the works
+quoted above, is that they inform us how
+Beethoven, spite of his experience with the
+<i>Fidelio</i>, was thinking very seriously of the
+writing of “operas.” If successful here, his
+fortune was made, and there was nothing then
+to hinder the crowning of his love by marriage.
+There now seemed to be a very good
+prospect of that success, for, in the year 1807,
+the two court-theaters passed into the hands
+of a company of noblemen, with Lobkowitz at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>
+their head. Lobkowitz immediately called
+upon Beethoven to act as composer for the
+Court-theater. Our artist accepted the position,
+and bound himself to write at least one
+great opera and operetta each year, and to supply
+whatever other music might be needed. A
+feeling of inexhaustible power must have inspired
+him at this time, when he was actuated
+by the tenderest love, with the utmost confidence
+in self. A forcible proof of this is the
+overture which he then wrote to Collins’s <i>Coriolanus</i>.
+But the gentlemen did not accede to
+his wishes; they did not want to trust him as
+composer of instrumental music in this point;
+and thus Beethoven, although not particularly
+pleased by the action of his princely friends,
+was, fortunately for himself and for us, retained
+in the field of labor most in harmony
+with his disposition.</p>
+
+<p>“If it be true that genuine strength and a
+fullness of deep feeling characterize the Germans,
+we must say that Beethoven was, above
+all, a German artist. In this, his most recent
+work, we cannot but admire the expressiveness
+and depth of his music, which so grandly
+painted the wild, perturbed mind of <i>Coriolanus</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>
+and the sudden and terrible change in his
+fate, while it elicited the sublimest emotion.”
+These lines are from an account of a concert
+given in the <i>Augarten</i> by Lichnowsky in the
+spring of 1807. But we have very reliable information
+that Beethoven was now engaged on
+the symphony in C minor and on the <i>Pastorale</i>.
+Thanks to Clementi, who was doing a
+large and thriving music business in London,
+and to his old friend Simrock, in Bonn, which
+was French at the time, he felt at his ease so
+far as money matters were concerned. He
+writes to Brunswick on the 11th of May, 1807:
+“I can now hope to be able, in a few years, to
+maintain the dignity of a real artist.” And
+when, in the same letter, we read the farther
+passage, “Kiss your sister Theresa. Tell
+her that I fear that I shall become great
+without a monument, to which she has contributed,”
+we can understand how love, fame
+and lofty intuition conspired to fit him for new
+and mighty exploits in art.</p>
+
+<p>The next work published by Beethoven was
+the Mass in C, op. 86, which Esterhazy gave
+him a commission to write. But here Beethoven,
+even more than in opera, missed the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>
+spirit of his subject. The Mass bears witness
+to his intellect, and has all the charms of
+sound; but it is not a religious composition.
+When Beethoven himself wrote to Esterhazy,
+as he did at this time: “Shall I tell you that
+it is not without many misgivings that I shall
+send you the Mass, for I know you are accustomed
+to have the inimitable works of the
+great Haydn performed for you,” he proves
+that he did not understand the real spirit of
+church music; for Haydn had, just as little as
+Beethoven, a true conception of what church
+music is. Haydn was now seventy-six years
+old, and Beethoven attended a performance of
+his <i>Creation</i> the following year, and, with a
+number of the distinguished nobility, received
+the celebrated guest at the door. The fame
+of the man whom he was thus called upon to
+honor, was a type of what his own was destined
+one day to be. And what his own fame
+would be, the production of the great works
+he had recently finished, must have enabled
+him to foresee. When the Mass was performed,
+in September, 1807, in Eisenstadt, our
+composer had a personal falling out—the result
+of a misunderstanding—with Mozart’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>
+pupil, Hummel; and one which was not made
+up for for some years. The prince had criticised
+Beethoven’s Mass by asking the strange question:
+“But, my dear Beethoven, what have
+you been doing now?” Hummel could not
+help laughing at this strange mode of criticism.
+Beethoven supposed he was laughing
+at his work; and after this would have nothing
+more to do with the prince.</p>
+
+<p>It was otherwise with the magnanimous,
+noble lover of art, Prince Lobkowitz, one of the
+principal grandees of Bohemia, and one of the
+principal patrons of the theater. To him Beethoven
+was indebted for the suggestion that the
+<i>Fidelio</i> should be performed in Prague. For
+the occasion, Beethoven wrote, in this year,
+1807, the overture, op. 138, which is, therefore,
+to be accounted not the second, but the
+third <i>Leonore</i> overture. The performance of
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, however, did not take place until
+1814, the same year in which it was performed
+in Vienna. In the following summer (1808), it
+was publicly announced that “the gifted Beethoven
+had conceived the idea to put Goethe’s
+Faust to music, as soon as he could find any
+one to prepare it for the stage.” The first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>
+part of Faust had appeared in 1807, as a
+“tragedy;” and, as we shall see, the poem
+made a deep impression on our artist. Long
+after, and even on his death-bed, it occupied
+his thoughts. But he had, even now, written
+some Faust music—the symphony in C minor.
+To it we now turn, for it is one of the greatest
+of Beethoven’s creations.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen how Beethoven himself once
+said: “Power is the moral code of men who
+distinguish themselves above others.” And
+so we hear how one person described him as
+“power personified;” how another said of him
+that “a Jupiter occasionally looked out through
+his eyes:” and a third, that “his magnificent
+forehead was the seat of majestic, creative
+power.” Spurred on by the opposition of
+“fate,” that is, by what nature had denied him,
+we see this power appear in all its concentration
+and sublimity. The power which has
+created, and which preserves all things, has
+been called “will,” and music, one of its immediate
+phenomena, while the other arts are
+only reflections of that will, and reflect only
+the things of the world. In the first movement
+of the symphony in C minor, we feel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>
+the presence of this power or personal will, to
+an extent greater than in any other work of
+art. It there appears in fullest action, in all
+its nobility. The symphony might not inappropriately
+have been called the Jupiter-symphony;
+for it is a veritable head of Jove, such
+as only a Phidias could have imagined. Melody
+has been described as the history of the
+will illuminated by reason, and the sonata-form
+of the symphony is just such kind of
+melody. And it is this fifth symphony of
+Beethoven’s, which, more than any other, tells
+us the most secret history of that personal
+will, of all its strivings and motions. No
+type in any art, could have suggested a Siegfried
+to Richard Wagner. Here Beethoven’s genius
+acts as force, as will, and as the conscious intelligence
+of the prototype of the Great Spirit.
+Yet when the work was performed in Paris,
+Hector Berlioz heard his teacher, Lessieur, say
+of it—and this, although he was deeply moved
+by it—“but such music should not be heard.”
+“Don’t be afraid,” was the reply, “there will
+be little of that kind of music written.” How
+correct was the insight of the gifted Frenchman!
+Siegfried’s <i>Rheinfahrt</i>, in the <i>Goetterdaemmerung</i>,
+is music of “that kind.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>But it is only the night of sorrow that gives
+birth to the concentration of power. It is only
+by great effort that this energy can be maintained.
+And as Coriolanus finely presses all the
+darts aimed at him by his mother into her
+own heart, in defying sacrifice, so we find, in
+the background of this holiest and most manly
+will, the consciousness of the variety and
+transitory character of all things. In his
+heart of hearts, Beethoven feels that fate has
+knocked at his door, only because in his following
+the dictates of force and action, he has
+sinned against nature, and that all will is only
+transitoriness and self-deception. The <i>adagio</i>
+expresses subjection to a higher will. The
+consciousness of this highest act of the will,
+to sacrifice one’s self and yet to preserve one’s
+freedom, gave birth to the song of jubilation
+in the <i>finale</i> which tells not of the joy and
+sorrow of one heart only; it lifts the freedom
+which has been praised and sought for into the
+higher region of moral will. Thus the symphony
+in C minor has a significance greater than
+any mere “work of art.” Like the production
+of religious art, it is a representation of those
+secret forces which hold the world together.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>The consciousness of this deeper, intimate
+dependence of all things on one another, is
+henceforth seen like a glimmer of light in the
+darkness which gathered around him, and it
+continues to beautify and transfigure his creations.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Pastorale</i> immediately followed the
+symphony in C minor. It gives expression
+to the peace of nature and to the fulfillment of
+the saying: “Look out on the beauties of nature
+and calm your soul by the contemplation
+of what must be.” While the fourth symphony
+compared with the fifth, is a symphony
+and nothing more—even if it be Beethoven’s—we
+plainly discover in this sixth, the poetic
+spirit, the pure feeling of God. The idea and
+character it illustrates constitutes in Beethoven’s
+life the transition from the external beauty
+of nature to the comprehension of the eternal.
+Over it is written: “Recollections of country
+life,” but also, “More an expression of feeling
+than a painting.” “The Beethovens loved
+the Rhine,” the young playmates of the boy
+Ludwig were wont to say, and he wrote himself
+to Wegeler: “Before me is the beautiful
+region in which I first saw the light as plainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>
+and as beautiful as the moment I left you.”
+On a leaf, written in his own hand, we find
+the words: “O the charm of the woods—who
+can express it?” But now that he was compelled
+to live a solitary life, nature became to
+him a mother, sister and sweetheart. He
+looked upon the wonders of nature as into
+living eyes; she calmed him who was naturally
+of such a stormy temperament, and to whom
+life had been unkind in so many ways. In
+the <i>Scene am Bach</i> (Scene by the Brook), the
+waters murmur peace to his soul; and the
+birds by the brooklet, in Heiligenstadt, where
+these two symphonies were finished, whisper
+joy. His <i>Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute</i>,
+infuses new courage into the heart, and
+when his <i>Gewitter und Sturm</i>, tells of the
+might of the Eternal, the shepherds express
+their joyful and grateful feelings in the words:
+<i>Herr wir danken dir</i>. The <i>finale</i>, like the
+<i>Chorphantasie</i> (op. 80), planned in 1800 but
+not finished until 1808, was intended to contain
+a chorus expressing in words the joyful
+and thankful feeling of the people. Beethoven’s
+own personal experience is always expressed
+in his music. A more intimate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>
+acquaintance with nature gave it to him to
+find yet deeper expression for the feelings
+which it excites in our hearts, as its everlasting
+change enabled him to conceive the eternal
+and imperishable.</p>
+
+<p>We now turn to a whole series of new and
+brilliant creations of our hero. It would seem
+as if his intercourse with the eternal in nature
+had given him new life.</p>
+
+<p>During these years, Beethoven’s intimacy
+with the Malfattis and their two charming
+daughters, was a great source of pleasure to
+him. His feelings towards them may be inferred
+from the following passages in his notes
+to his friend Gleichenstein. He writes: “I
+feel so well when I am with them that they
+seem able to heal the wounds which bad men
+have inflicted on my heart.”... “I expect
+to find there in the <i>Wilden Mann</i> in the park,
+no wild men, but beautiful graces.” And
+again: “My greetings, to all who are dear to
+you and to me. How gladly would I add—and
+to whom we are dear???? These points
+of interrogation are becoming, at least in me.”
+Gleichenstein married the second daughter,
+Anna Malfatti, in 1811. To the young dark-eyed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>
+Theresa, who made her debut in society
+about this time, and whom he writes of as
+“volatile, taking everything in life lightly”
+but “with so much feeling for all that is beautiful
+and good, and a great talent for music,”
+he sends a sonata, and recommends Goethe’s
+Wilhelm Meister and Schlegel’s translation of
+Shakespeare. We thus see that his intercourse
+with the family had that intellectual foundation
+which Beethoven could not dispense with,
+on anything. It would even seem as if, in his
+enthusiasm to put his strength to the test of
+new deeds, even his “eternal loved one”
+should fade from his view.</p>
+
+<p>The cello sonata (op. 69) dedicated to his
+friend Gleichenstein immediately followed the
+<i>Pastorale</i>. The two magnificent trios dedicated
+to Countess Erdoedy, with whom he
+resided at this time, follow as op. 70. The
+first movement of the trio in D major is a
+brilliantly free play of mind and force, while
+the <i>adagio</i> suggests Faust lost in the deep
+contemplation of nature and its mysteries.
+The whole, on account of the mysterious awe
+expressed by this movement has been called by
+musicians the <i>Fledermaustrio</i>, i. e., the bat-trio.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>
+The <i>Leonore</i> is numbered op. 72. It
+was published in 1810. Op. 73, the most
+beautiful of all concertos, was dedicated to the
+Archduke Rudolph. We have further, op.
+74, the harp-quartet, dedicated to Prince
+Lobkowitz, and the fantasia for the piano, op.
+77, to his friend Brunswick; lastly, the sonata
+in F sharp major, op. 78, very highly valued
+by Beethoven himself, dedicated to his sister
+Theresa. Verily “new acts” enough, and
+what glorious deeds!</p>
+
+<p>This brings us to the year 1809, which witnessed
+a change for the better in Beethoven’s
+pecuniary circumstances. He now received a
+permanent salary. On the 1st of November,
+1808, he wrote to the Silesian Count, Oppersdorf,—whom
+he had visited in the fall of 1806,
+in company with Lichnowsky, and who gave
+him a commission to write a symphony, which
+the count, however, never received—as follows:
+“My circumstances are improving without the
+assistance of people who entertain their friends
+with blows. I have also been called to act as
+<i>capellmeister</i> to the King of Westphalia, and
+perhaps I may obey the call.” The following
+December, Beethoven gave a great concert, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>
+programme of which embraced the two new
+symphonies, parts of his Mass, the concerto in
+G minor, and the <i>Chorphantasie</i>. He himself
+improvised at the piano. The attention
+of people far and near was called anew to this
+great and grave master in music, whom the
+sensualist Jerome Bonaparte endeavored to attract
+to his Capua in Cassel, and they became
+anxious lest he might leave Vienna. Beethoven’s
+friends bestirred themselves to keep
+him in Vienna, as did Beethoven himself to
+stay. This is very evident from the letters to
+Gleichenstein and Erdoedy. Three friends of
+his, to whom it was largely due that he wrote
+one of his greatest works, were instrumental
+in keeping him in Vienna. They were the
+Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and
+Prince Kinsky, to whose wife the six songs, op.
+75, are dedicated. The sum guaranteed
+amounted to eight thousand marks. “You
+see, my dear good Gleichenstein,” he writes,
+on the 18th of March, 1809, <i>a propos</i> of the
+“decree” which he had received on the 26th
+of February, from the hands of the archduke,
+and which imposed on him no duty but to
+remain in Vienna and Austria, “how honorable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>
+to me my stay here has become.” He
+could not, however, have meant seriously what
+he added immediately after: “The title of imperial
+<i>capellmeister</i> will come to me also;” for
+what use had a man like the Emperor Franz
+for such an “innovator” at his court? The
+dedications of his works mentioned above
+were simply testimonials of gratitude for the
+friendship thus shown him.</p>
+
+<p>He now planned an extensive journey,
+which was to embrace England, and even
+Spain. He writes to Gleichenstein: “Now
+you can help me get a wife. If you find a
+pretty one—one who may perhaps lend a sigh
+to my harmonies, do the courting for me.
+But she must be beautiful; I cannot love anything
+that is not beautiful; if I could I should
+fall in love with myself.” The coming war
+interrupted all his plans. But, at the same
+time, it suggested to the imagination of our
+artist, that wonderful picture of the battle of
+forces, the seventh (A major) symphony (op.
+92), which Richard Wagner has called the
+“apotheosis of the dance.” Germany now
+first saw the picture of a genuinely national
+war. Napoleon appeared as Germany’s hereditary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>
+foe, and the whole people, from the highest
+noble to the meanest peasant rose up, as
+one man, to fight the battle of freedom. The
+march is, after all, only the dance of war, and
+Beethoven gathered into one picture of instrumentation,
+the glad tramp of warlike hosts,
+the rhythm of trampling steeds, the waving of
+standards and the sound of trumpets, with a
+luminousness such as the world had never
+witnessed before. The poet needs only see the
+eddy created by a mill-wheel to paint the vapor
+and foam of Charybdis. In the case of Beethoven,
+this joy in the game of war was, as
+the character of Bonaparte, on another occasion,
+a stimulant to his imagination, which
+now painted a picture of the free play of force
+and of human existence from the material of
+recent historical events. And even in after
+years the timeliness of this work and the
+spirit which called it into existence were evident.
+And, as we shall soon see, it constituted
+the principal part in the musical celebration,
+when, in 1813, the real war of emancipation
+occurred and led to a most decided victory.
+Personally, Beethoven felt himself not inferior
+to the mighty conqueror in natural power, and,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>
+like Schiller, he clearly foresaw the awakening
+of the national genius which overthrew Napoleon.
+To this second-sight of the prophet,
+possessed by every genuine poet—to this sure
+presentiment of ultimate triumph—our artist
+owed it, that, even in the days of Germany’s
+greatest ignominy and subjection he sang of
+the disenthrallment of the mind and of the
+jubilation of victory. Napoleon defeated the
+Austrians again. But as Beethoven first felt
+the weight and the power of resistance of
+Germany after the battles of Aspern and Wagram,
+he now depicted (after Napoleon had
+taken the Emperor’s daughter to wife and
+seemed predestined to become the despot of all
+Europe), in the <i>scherzo</i> and <i>finale</i> of the
+seventh symphony, better than ever before,
+the jubilation of the victorious nation, with all
+its popular feasts and games. Yet, in the
+melancholy second part, with its monotonous
+beats on the <i>dominante</i>, we think we
+hear the gloomy rhythm of a funeral march.
+This exceedingly characteristic theme is found
+at the very beginning of a sketch-book of the
+year 1809.</p>
+
+<p>Affairs were for a time in a very bad condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>
+in Vienna and all Austria. The burthen
+of taxation was severely felt. Everything
+was at a standstill. When his beloved pupil,
+the Archduke Rudolph retreated from Vienna
+he wrote the <i>Lebewohl</i> of the sonata op. 81<sup>a</sup>;
+but its <i>finale</i> (<i>die Ankunft</i>) was not written
+until the 30th of January, 1810. The summer
+was a dreary one to Beethoven, and there
+was no demand for the exercise of his genius.
+Following Ph. E. Bach, Kirnberger, Fux
+and Albrechtsberger he prepared the <i>Materiellen
+zum Generalbass</i> (materials for thorough-bass)
+for his noble pupil. This work was
+subsequently but wrongly published under
+the name of <i>Beethoven’s Studien</i>. On the 8th
+of September, a charity concert was given at
+which—to the disgrace of the period, be it
+said, for Napoleon had only just left Schoenbrunn—the
+<i>Eroica</i> was performed, Beethoven
+himself holding the baton. The rest of the
+summer he hoped to spend in some quiet
+corner in the country. He sojourned sometime
+with the Brunswicks in Hungary, and
+composed those works of his genius, op. 77
+and 78. His genius, indeed, seems to have
+awakened to a new life during this fall of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>
+1809. For the sketch-book of the seventh
+symphony (op. 92) contains sketches of the
+8th (op. 93) also; and Beethoven contemplated
+giving another concert at Christmas,
+at which, of course, only new works
+could be performed. These sketches are followed
+by drafts for a new concerto. On these
+drafts we find the words: <i>Polonaise fuer
+Clavier allein</i>, also <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>—“finish
+the overture” and “detached
+periods like princes are beggars, not
+the whole.” He here takes up once more
+those ideas of his youth, but with a grander
+conception of their meaning. They constitute
+the intellectual germ of the <i>finale</i> of the
+ninth symphony. But the melody which he
+actually noted down was elaborated in 1814
+into the overture op. 115 (<i>Zur Namensfeier</i>).</p>
+
+<p>During this period of Germany’s national
+awakening, the theaters had again turned their
+attention to Schiller’s dramas. The effect of
+this was to revive Beethoven’s youthful ideas.
+He now desired to give <i>Tell</i> a musical
+dress. He had already received a commission
+of this kind for the <i>Egmont</i>, and, on the occasion
+of his receiving it, he gave expression<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>
+to a remarkable opinion. Said he to Czerny:
+“Schiller’s poems are exceedingly difficult to
+set to music. The composer must be able to
+rise high above the poet. But who can rise
+higher than Schiller? Goethe is much easier.”
+And, indeed, his <i>Egmont</i> overture breathes a
+higher spirit and takes a loftier flight than
+Goethe’s beautiful tragedy. The composition
+of this music led to his more intimate acquaintance
+with the poet. To this same year,
+1810, belong the incomparable songs <i>Kennst
+du das Land</i>, and <i>Herz mein Herz</i>, in op. 75.</p>
+
+<p>This year, 1810, brings us to a somewhat
+mysterious point in Beethoven’s life, to his
+<i>Heirathspartie</i> (marriage speculation).</p>
+
+<p>In the spring, he writes to his friend Zmeskall:
+“Do you recollect the condition I am
+in—the condition of Hercules before Queen
+Omphale? Farewell, and never again speak
+of me as the great man, for I never felt either
+the weakness or the strength of human nature
+as I do now.” But writing to Wegeler on the
+second of May, he says: “For a couple of
+years I have ceased to lead a quiet and peaceful
+life. I was carried by force into the
+world’s life. Yet I would be happy, perhaps<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>
+one of the very happiest of men, were it not
+that the demon has taken up his abode in my
+ears. Had I not read somewhere that man
+should not voluntarily take leave of life while
+he is still able to do one good deed, I should
+long have departed hence, and by my own
+act. Life is very beautiful, but, in my case,
+it is poisoned forever.” He asked for the
+certificate of his baptism, and this in a manner
+so urgent that it creates surprise. It was
+three months before the answer to the enigma
+was found, and Breuning wrote that he believed
+that Beethoven’s engagement was
+broken off. But it continues a mystery, even
+to this day, who his choice was. It has been
+surmised that it was his “immortal loved one,”
+or Theresa Brunswick. But we know nothing
+certain on this point. True, he had now
+acquired both fame and a position which raised
+him above all fear of want. But she was
+thirty-two years old, and he hard of hearing.
+In addition to this, there was, on his side, a
+relationship of the nature of which we shall
+yet have something to say. Her passion, if
+such there was on her part, must have been
+prudently concealed; and it is certainly remarkable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>
+that, from this time forward, her
+name is not mentioned by Beethoven. However,
+her niece, Countess Marie Brunswick,
+who is still living, expressly writes: “I never
+heard of any intimate relation nor of any love
+between them, while Beethoven’s profound
+love for my father’s cousin, Countess Guicciardi,
+was a matter of frequent mention.” But
+Giulietta had at this time long been Countess
+Gallenberg. The solution of this mystery,
+accordingly, belongs to the future.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, we have a few notes to
+Gleichenstein, who married the younger Malfatti,
+the following year. In one of them we
+read: “You live on still, calm waters—in a
+safe harbor. You do not feel or should not
+feel the distress of the friend who is caught in
+the storm. What will people think of me
+in the planet Venus Urania? How can one
+judge of me who has never seen me? My
+pride is so humbled, that even without being
+ordered to do so, I would travel thither with
+thee.” And, in the other: “The news I
+received from you cast me down again out of
+the regions of happiness. What is the use
+of saying that you would send me word when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>
+there was to be music again? Am I nothing
+more than a musician to you and to others?
+Nowhere but in my own bosom can I find
+a resting-place. Externally, to myself there
+is none. No, friendship and feelings like
+it have only pain for me. Be it so, then.
+Poor Beethoven, there is no external happiness
+for you. You must create your own
+happiness. Only in the ideal world do you
+find friends.” The sketch of that and Klaerchen’s
+song <i>Freudvoll und leidvoll</i> were
+found in the possession of Theresa Malfatti.
+When Gleichenstein was engaged, the feelings
+of the man who had been so bitterly deceived
+overflowed. But how could the young girl of
+eighteen dare to do what the grave Countess
+would not venture? Theresa Brunswick died
+unmarried. Theresa Malfatti married, in 1817,
+one Herr von Drossdick. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s
+intercourse with the family continued.</p>
+
+<p>We next hear of his acquaintance with
+Bettina Brentano which led to his meeting
+Goethe in person.</p>
+
+<p>Her brother Francis had married a Miss
+Birkenstock, of Vienna. Beethoven had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>
+long and well acquainted with the Birkenstock
+family. Bettina Brentano herself was
+betrothed to Achim von Arnim, and her
+deep love of music had inspired her with a
+genuine affection for Beethoven. One beautiful
+day in May, she, in the utmost simplicity
+of heart, went, in company with her married
+sister, Mrs. Savigny, to Beethoven and met
+with the very best reception. He sang for
+her <i>Kennst du das Land</i>, with a sharp
+and unpleasant voice. Her eyes sparkled.
+“Aha!” said Beethoven, “most men are
+touched by something good. But such men
+have not the artist’s nature. Artists are fiery
+and do not weep.” He escorted her home to
+Brentano’s, and after this they met every day.</p>
+
+<p>Bettina at this time sent Goethe an account
+of the impression made on her by Beethoven’s
+appearance and conversation. Her
+charming letters are to be found in the Cotta
+<i>Beethovenbuch</i>. They show how exalted an
+idea Beethoven had of his own high calling.
+She writes: “He feels himself to be the
+founder of a new sensuous basis of the intellectual
+life of man. He begets the undreamt-of
+and the uncreated. What can such a man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>
+have to do with the world? Sunrise finds
+him at his blessed day’s work, and at sunset he
+is as busy as at early morning. He forgets
+even his daily food. O! Goethe, no Emperor
+or King is as conscious of his power and of
+the fact that all power proceeds from him, as
+is this man Beethoven.” And Goethe, who
+“loved to contemplate and fix in memory
+the picture of real genius,” who well knew
+“that his intellect was even greater than his
+genius, and who frequently throws from himself
+a luminousness like that of lightning, so
+that we can scarcely tell, as we sit in the
+darkness, from what side the day may break,”
+invited him to Carlsbad, whither he was wont
+to go every year.</p>
+
+<p>The two remarkable letters to Bettina of
+the 11th of August, 1810, and the 10th of
+February, 1811, the autographs of which
+have since been found, show us how deeply
+the heart of our artist was stirred by love
+at this time. They are to be found in
+“Beethoven Letters.” A work of his composed
+about this time, the <i>Quartetto serioso</i>, op.
+95, of October, 1810, throws some light on
+this love, and yet it rises far above the pain<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>
+and the sorrow of the situation in which he
+found himself. Heavy thunders announce
+Vulcan at work; but in the <i>finale</i>, how Beethoven’s
+giant mind frees itself from itself!
+The noble, powerful soaring Trio op. 97 dates
+from the spring of 1811, and, especially in the
+<i>adagio</i>, gives evidence of wonderful heartfelt
+bliss. But the fact that in this period no other
+compositions were written would go to show the
+influence of bitter experience. It may be,
+however, that the commission he received for
+the plays “The Ruins of Athens” and “King
+Stephen,” took up the best portion of his
+time; and, besides, the two symphonies had to
+be finished. The song <i>An die Geliebte</i> also
+belongs to this year 1811, as well as the principal
+draft of op. 96, the charmingly coquettish
+sonata for the violin which was finished in
+1812, on the occasion of the visit of the then
+celebrated violin player Rode to Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven’s work on these two plays took up
+the summer of 1811, but they were not put
+upon the stage until the spring of 1812. At
+the same time, an opera was wanted for Vienna.
+It was the “Ruins of Babylon.” He also
+received an invitation to Naples, where Count<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>
+Gallenberg was director of the theater. We
+next find him traveling to Teplitz, a bathing
+place, where he formed a more intimate acquaintance
+with Varnhagen, Tiedge and Elise
+von der Recke. Amalie Sebald, a nut-brown
+maid of Berlin, twenty-five years of age, was
+stopping with Elise. Amalie had a charming
+voice, and was as remarkable for her intellectual
+endowments as for her beauty of physique.
+Beethoven, spite of his many disappointments,
+was greatly taken with her. Her picture is
+before us. Her eye betokens intellect and
+nobility of soul, and her mouth extreme
+loveliness. Beethoven subsequently wrote to
+Tiedge: “Press the Countess’s hand for me
+very tenderly, but very respectfully. Give
+Amalie a right loving kiss, when no one is
+looking.” He did not see Goethe on this
+occasion. He was at Teplitz again the following
+year, when his meeting—of which so
+much has been said and written—“with the
+most precious jewel of the German nation,”
+as he called Goethe, when writing to Bettina,
+occurred. We can here give only the principal
+incidents of that event.</p>
+
+<p>The Austrian imperial couple, their daughter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>
+the Empress of France, the King of Saxony,
+the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and a great
+many Princes were there. The company already
+in the place was joined by Goethe, the
+jurist Savigny and his brother-in-law, A. von
+Arnim, together with his charming wife, Bettina.
+Beethoven himself writes on the 12th
+of August, 1812, to his Archduke in Vienna:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“I was in Goethe’s company a great deal.” And
+the poet, writing to Zelter, passes the following judgment
+on Beethoven: “I became acquainted with Beethoven
+in Teplitz. His wonderful talent astounded
+me. But, unfortunately, he is an utterly untamed
+character. He is not, indeed, wrong in finding the
+world detestable. Still, his finding it detestable does
+not make it any more enjoyable either to himself or to
+others. But he is very excusable and much to be
+pitied. His hearing is leaving him. He is by nature
+laconic, and this defect is making him doubly so.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The remarkable incident related in the
+third letter to Bettina, a letter which has been
+widely read and the authenticity of which has
+been much contested—for the original does
+not seem to be extant—Bettina herself describes
+in a letter to Pueckler-Muskau. Goethe,
+she says, who had received many marks
+of attention from the Princes present, was desirous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>
+of testifying his special devotion to the
+Empress, and in “solemn, unassuming expressions”
+signified to Beethoven that he should do
+the same. But Beethoven replied: “What!
+You must not do so. You must let them
+clearly understand what they possess in you;
+for if you do not, they will never find it out.
+I have taken quite a different course.” And
+then he told how his Archduke once sent him
+word to wait, and how, instead of doing so, he
+went away. Princes might indeed, he said,
+decorate one with the insignia of an order, or
+make a man a court counsellor, but they could
+never make a Goethe or a Beethoven. To
+such men they owed respect. The whole court
+now came in. Beethoven said to Goethe:
+“Keep my arm; they must make way for us.”
+But Goethe left him and stood aside with
+his hat in his hand, while Beethoven, with folded
+arms, went through the midst of them
+and only touched his hat. The court party
+separated to make place for him, and they had
+all a friendly greeting for our artist. He
+stood and waited at the other end for Goethe,
+who bowed profoundly as the court party
+passed him. Now Beethoven said: “I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>
+waited for you, because I honor and respect
+you, as you deserve, but you have done them
+too much honor.” Then, it is said, Beethoven
+ran to them, and told them all that had happened.</p>
+
+<p>That his behavior, on this occasion, was
+not by any means dictated by any over-estimation
+of himself, but by a deep human
+feeling of equality—an equality which the
+artist finds it harder than any one else to assert
+and acquire—the whole course of Beethoven’s
+life, as well as his intercourse with people at
+this bathing place at Teplitz, proves. He
+there found Miss Sebald again. A series of
+very tender notes written to her tells us of his
+heartfelt and good understanding with this
+refined and clever North German lady, who
+made greater allowances for his natural disposition
+than were wont to be made. He
+writes in 1816: “I found one whom, I am sure,
+I shall never possess.” His admission that, for
+five years—that is from 1811,—he had known
+a lady to be united to whom he would have
+esteemed it the greatest happiness he could
+have on earth, was made in this same year.
+But, he added, that was a happiness not to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>
+thought of; union with her was an impossibility,
+a chimera! And yet he closed with
+the words: “It is still as it was the first day
+I saw her. I cannot dismiss the thought of
+her from my mind.” He did not know that
+Amalie Sebald had been the wife of a councillor
+of justice named Krause. Again did he
+give vent to his feeling in the songs <i>An die
+ferne Geliebte</i>—“to the distant loved one”—which
+bear the date; “in the month of
+April, 1816.”</p>
+
+<p>This was the last time that Beethoven seriously
+concerned himself about marriage. Fate
+would indeed have it that he should soon become
+a “father,” but without a wife. Yet no
+matter what the personal wishes of our artist
+through the rest of his life may have been, or
+what the wants he felt, his eye was ever fixed
+on a lofty goal; and it was in the ideal world
+that he found his real friends. He finished
+the seventh symphony, and after it the eighth,
+in this fall of 1812. The coquettish <i>allegretto
+scherzando</i> of the latter was suggested by the
+Maelzl metronome invented a short time before,
+and the strange minuet with its proud
+step is a hit at the high court society whom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>
+Beethoven so solemnly warned that the times
+of the old regime, when the principle <i>l’état
+c’est moi</i> obtained in society, were passed.
+These works are clearly expressive of the free
+and progressive spirit of a new and better age.
+It was the seventh symphony especially that,
+in the broadest sense, opened to Beethoven
+himself the hearts of that age. This symphony
+helped celebrate the newly-won peace established
+by the Congress of Vienna. Beethoven
+now entered a new stage of development,
+and rose to his full height as an artist
+and a man. Other works composed by Beethoven
+during this period are the following:
+82 variations (1806-7); <i>In questa tomba</i>
+(1807); <i>Sonatine</i> (op. 79); variations op. 76
+and <i>Lied aus der Ferne</i> (composed 1809);
+<i>Die laute Klage</i> (probably 1809); Sextett op.
+8<sup>b</sup>. <i>Andenken</i>, <i>Sehnsucht</i> by Goethe; <i>Der Liebende</i>,
+<i>Der Juengling in der Fremde</i> (appeared
+in 1810); three songs by Goethe, op. 83, (composed
+in 1810); Scotch songs (commenced in
+1810); four ariettes, op. 82, (appeared 1811);
+trio in one movement and three <i>equale</i> for
+four trombones, (composed in 1812) the latter
+of which was re-arranged as a dirge for Beethoven’s
+burial.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1813-1823.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE MISSA SOLEMNIS AND THE NINTH SYMPHONY.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="hangingindent">
+<p>Resignation—Pecuniary Distress—Napoleon’s Decline—The
+Battle-Symphony—Its Success—Beethoven’s Own Estimate
+of It—Wellington’s Victory—Strange Conduct—Intellectual
+Exaltation—His Picture by Letronne—The
+Fidelio Before the Assembled Monarchs—Beethoven the
+Object of Universal Attention—Presents from Kings—Works
+Written in 1814 and 1815—The Liederkreis—Madame
+von Ertmann—His Nephew—Romulus and the
+Oratorio—His “Own Style”—Symphony for London—Commission
+from London—Opinion of the English
+People—His Songs—His Missa Solemnis—His Own
+Opinion of It—Its Completion—Characteristics—The
+Ninth Symphony.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Resignation</span>, the most absolute and heartfelt
+resignation to thy fate! Thou shouldst
+not live for thyself, but only for others.
+Henceforth there is no happiness for thee, but
+in thy art. O God, grant me strength to
+conquer myself. Nothing should now tie me
+to life.” With this cry of the heart, taken
+<i>verbatim</i> from his diary of 1812, Beethoven
+consecrated himself to the noble task which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>
+after this he never lost sight of—of writing
+“for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal,
+the Infinite.”</p>
+
+<p>The national bankruptcy of Austria did not
+leave Beethoven unaffected. It compelled
+him, besides, to come to the assistance of his
+sick brother, Karl. The first thing, therefore,
+that he felt called upon to undertake, in
+order to provide himself with the mere means
+of subsistence, was the public representation of
+his new compositions. It was not long before
+an occasion of an extraordinary kind offered,
+an occasion which lifted Beethoven’s creations
+to the dignity of one of the motive powers of
+the national life of the period. The star of
+Napoleon’s destiny was declining; and the
+gigantic struggle begun to bring about the
+overthrow of the tyrant of Europe, enlisted
+the sympathy and active participation of our
+artist.</p>
+
+<p>“To abandon a great undertaking and to remain
+as I am! O, what a difference between
+the un-industrious life I pictured to myself so
+often! O, horrible circumstances which do
+not suppress my desire to be thrifty, but which
+keep one from being so. O, God! O, God!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>
+look down on thy unhappy Beethoven. Let
+this last no longer as it is.” Thus did he write
+in May, 1813, in his diary. Madame Streicher,
+interested herself in him in his pecuniary
+embarrassment, which was so great that at one
+time, he did not have so much as a pair of boots
+to leave the house in. He writes: “I do
+not deserve to be in the condition I am—the
+most unfortunate of my life.” The payments
+due him from Kinsky did not come, because
+of his sad death, and Prince Lobkowitz’s
+love of music and the theater had greatly embarrassed
+him financially. Even the giving
+of a concert which he contemplated had to be
+abandoned in consequence of the bad times.</p>
+
+<p>The idea of a journey to London now took
+possession of him all the more strongly because
+of the straits to which he was reduced.
+This journey was, doubtless, the “great undertaking”
+referred to above. It is deserving
+of special mention here, because to it we are
+indebted for the ninth symphony.</p>
+
+<p>Maelzl, the inventor of the metronome, had
+built a panharmonicum, and was anxious to
+make the journey to London in company with
+Beethoven. He had had the burning of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>
+Moscow set for his instrument; and he now
+wanted a musical representation of the next
+great event of the time—Wellington’s victory
+at Vittoria. He suggested the idea to Beethoven.
+Beethoven’s hatred of Napoleon and
+love of England induced him to adopt it, and
+this was the origin of the <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
+(battle-symphony) op. 91. For, in accordance
+with Maelzl’s proposition, he elaborated
+what was at first a trumpeter’s piece into an
+instrumental composition. It was performed
+before a large audience “for the benefit of the
+warriors made invalids in the battle of Hanau.”
+And—, irony of fate!—a work which Beethoven
+himself declared to be a “piece of stupidity,”
+took the Viennese by storm, and at a
+bound, made him very popular in Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>It was performed on the 12th of December,
+1813. The applause was unbounded. All
+the best artists of the city were with him.
+Salieri, Hummel, Moscheles, Schuppanzigh,
+Mayseder, and even strangers like Meyerbeer,
+assisted him. The Seventh Symphony was the
+ideal foundation of the entire production, for
+that symphony was the expression of the
+awakening of the heroic spirit of the nation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>
+Anton Schindler, of whom we have already
+spoken more than once, and of whom we shall
+have more to say in the sequel, as Beethoven’s
+companion, writes: “All hitherto dissenting
+voices, with the exception of a few professors
+of music, finally agreed that he was worthy of
+the laurel crown.” He rightly calls the production
+of this piece one of the most important
+events in Beethoven’s life; for now the portals
+of the temple of fame were opened wide to receive
+him; and if he had had nothing “nobler
+or better” than this to do in life, he certainly
+would never again feel the want of the good
+things of this world.</p>
+
+<p>His next concern was to turn the occasion
+of the moment to advantage, to give some concerts
+with <i>Wellington’s Victory</i>, and thus obtain
+leisure to work. Pieces from the “Ruins
+of Athens” also were played at these concerts.
+The success of one aria in particular from that
+composition suggested to one of the singers
+of the court-opera the idea of reviving
+the <i>Fidelio</i>. It then received the form in
+which we have it to-day. And what a hold
+the character of Leonore still had on our
+artist’s soul, we learn from the account of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>
+dramatic poet, Treitschke, who again tried to
+abridge the text. He had given expression
+to the last flash of life in the scene in Florestein’s
+dungeon, in the words:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Und spür’ ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft?</div>
+<div class="indent">Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet?</div>
+<div class="verse">Und seh’, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft</div>
+<div class="indent">Sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet,</div>
+<div class="verse">Ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin so gleich,</div>
+<div class="verse">Der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>“What I now tell you,” he continues, “will
+never fade from my memory. Beethoven
+came to me in the evening. He read, ran up
+and down the room, murmured, growled, as
+he usually did instead of singing, and tore
+open the pianoforte. My wife had frequently
+begged him in vain to play. To-day he
+placed the text before him and began playing
+wonderful melodies, which unfortunately no
+charm could preserve. The hour passed.
+Beethoven, however, continued his improvisation.
+Supper was served but he would allow
+no one to disturb him. It grew quite late.
+He then put his arms about me and hurried
+home. A few days after the piece was
+finished.”</p>
+
+<p>At this time he wrote to Brunswick: “My<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>
+kingdom is in the air. My soul trills as the
+winds warble;” to Treitschke: “In short
+I assure you, the opera will win the crown of
+martyrdom for me.” Thus Leonore’s sorrows
+and victory found expression a second time;
+for now the so-called <i>Fidelio</i> overture (E major)
+was composed. At its performance on the
+23d of May, 1814, Beethoven was after the
+very first act, enthusiastically called for and
+enthusiastically greeted. The applause increased
+with every succeeding performance.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven was now one of the best known
+characters in Vienna. He had, even before
+this, given several concerts of his own, and at
+several others music composed by him had
+been performed. His picture by Letronne
+appeared at this time. “It is as natural as
+life,” said Dr. Weissenbach. He had, on the
+26th of September, received with his music of
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, the assemblage of monarchs who
+had come to attend the Congress of Vienna;
+and what was more natural than that he
+should now greet them with something new
+in the nature of festal music? He did this
+with the cantata, <i>Der glorreiche Augenblick</i>
+(“the glorious moment”) op. 136. The production<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>
+of it took place in the ever memorable
+Academy, on the 29th of November, 1814,
+when Beethoven, before a “parterre of kings,”
+and what was more, before the educated of
+Europe, by the mere assistance of his art,
+helped celebrate the solemn moment which
+did away with oppression and tyranny and
+marked the beginning of a new and happier
+period. His audience was numbered by
+thousands, and “the respectful absence of all
+loud signs of applause gave the whole the
+character of worship. Every one seemed to
+feel that never again would there be such a
+moment in his life.” This extract is from
+Schindler’s account, yet, at certain places “the
+ecstasy of all present found expression in the
+loudest applause, applause which drowned the
+powerful accompaniment of the composer.”
+The <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i> (battle-symphony) as
+well as the seventh symphony, contributed to
+the achievement of this victory. After it was
+over, he wrote to the archduke: “I am still
+exhausted by fatigue, vexation, pleasure and
+joy.” But to get an idea of the overpowering
+impression made on him by those days, we
+must refer to his diary of the following spring,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>
+when all that he had then experienced took a
+definite form in his feelings and consciousness.
+He then writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“May all my life be sacrificed to the sublime. May
+it be a sanctuary of art.... Let me live, even
+if I have to have recourse to ‘assistance,’ and such
+means can be found. Let the ear apparatus be perfected
+if possible, and then travel! This you owe to
+man and the Almighty. Only thus can you develop
+what is locked up within you. The court of a prince,
+a little orchestra to write music for, and to produce it,
+for the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the Infinite.
+Thus may my last years pass away, and to
+future humanity....”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>He breaks off here as if he did not need to
+express an opinion on what he aimed at achieving
+and left after him as an inheritance. But
+the reputation which he had acquired is correctly
+described as “one of the greatest ever
+won by a musician.” And now, more than
+ever before, he was the object of universal
+attention, especially at the brilliant entertainments
+given by the Russian ambassador, count
+Rasumowsky, to the monarchs present, on one
+of which occasions he was presented to them.
+The Empress of Russia wished to pay him a
+special “compliment.” She did so at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>
+palace of Archduke Rudolph, who thus helped
+celebrate the triumph of his honored teacher.
+At a court concert on the 25th of January,
+1815, he accompanied the <i>Adelaide</i> for Florestan
+Wild himself; and Schindler closes his
+account of it with the words: “The great
+master recalled those days with much feeling,
+and with a certain pride once said that he
+had made the great pay their court to him,
+and that with them he had always preserved his
+dignity.” He thus verified what, as we saw
+alone, he had said to Goethe: “You must let
+them clearly understand what they possess in
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>The “assistance” he longed for came in the
+form of presents from monarchs, especially of
+the “magnanimous” one of the Empress of
+Russia, for whom he, at that time, wrote the
+polonaise, op. 89. These presents enabled him
+to make a permanent investment of twenty
+thousand marks, which his friends were very
+much surprised to find he owned, after his
+death. But, although by “decree” he drew
+yearly the sum of 2,700 marks, his principal
+source of income continued to be derived from
+his intellectual labor; for his dearly beloved<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>
+brother Karl died and left him, as an inheritance,
+so to speak, his eight-year-old son, named
+after his father—the mother not being a fit
+person to take care of the child, and, besides,
+not enjoying the best of reputations. Beethoven’s
+struggles for his “son,” <i>the unfortunate
+nephew</i>, with the mother, whom he was wont
+to call the “queen of the night,” filled the next
+succeeding years of his life with legal controversies
+and negotiations to such an extent
+that they seem to have hindered him in his
+work. Extreme trouble of mind, brought
+about by the social and political degeneration
+of Vienna immediately after the Congress, soon
+entirely obscured the lustre of the days we
+have just described; and it was only for short
+moments of time, as on the occasion of the
+celebrated concert of the year 1824, that we
+see his old pride and fame revive. The works
+performed at that concert were the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>
+and the Ninth Symphony. The former
+was a token of gratitude and devotion to the
+Archduke Rudolph, but at the same time a
+reflection of the soul of the artist himself as we
+have heard him describe it above. The symphony
+was written “for London;” whither in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>
+these saddening times his eyes were directed,
+and which, although he never undertook the
+contemplated journey thither, became the incentive
+to the composition of many important
+works.</p>
+
+<p>Among the works which date from 1814
+and 1815, we may mention the sonata, op. 90,
+a “struggle between the head and the heart,”
+addressed in the summer of 1814 to Count
+Moritz Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage
+to a Vienna singer; the song <i>Merkenstein</i>
+(op. 100), composed in the winter of
+1814; Tiedge’s <i>Hoffnung</i> (op. 94), composed
+after the last court concert for the singer
+Wild; the chorus <i>Meeresstille und Glueckliche
+Fahrt</i> (op. 112), which was written in 1815,
+and in 1822, “most respectfully dedicated to
+the immortal Goethe;” lastly, the magnificent
+cello sonatas, op. 102, dedicated to Countess
+Erdoedy, who became reconciled with him once
+more during this winter, after there had been
+a variance between them for a time. He calls
+the first of these sonatas the “free sonata,”
+and, indeed, freedom now became the characteristic
+of his higher artistic pictures. The
+<i>adagio</i> of the second discloses to us, in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>
+choral-like construction of its theme, the prevailing
+religious direction taken by his
+thoughts, which is also apparent in very many
+expressions and quotations to be found in his
+diary.</p>
+
+<p>We have already mentioned the <i>Liederkreis</i>,
+op. 98. Beethoven worked at it and at the
+sonata op. 101 at the same time. The latter,
+an expression of the deepest poetry of the
+soul, was ready the following year, and was
+dedicated to Madame von Ertmann, his “dear
+Dorothea Caecilia,” who, because she thoroughly
+understood the meaning of Beethoven’s
+music, became a real propagandist of his compositions
+for the piano. In 1831, Mendelssohn
+could say that he had “learned much” from
+her deeply expressive execution. The noble
+lady had lost her only son during the absence
+of her husband in the wars of emancipation;
+and Beethoven had rescued her from a condition
+of mind bordering on melancholy, by
+coming to her and playing for her until she
+burst into tears. “The spell was broken.”
+“We finite creatures with an infinite mind are
+born only for suffering and for joy; and we
+might almost say that the best of human kind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>
+obtain joy only through their sorrow.” Thus
+spoke Beethoven to Countess Erdoedy, and
+this little incident confirms its truth. His
+own sufferings gave our artist the tones of his
+musical creations, and these creations were to
+him “the dearest gift of heaven,” and, as it
+were, a consolation from on high.</p>
+
+<p>But to continue our biography.</p>
+
+<p>When, after a violent contest with the
+mother, he was made sole guardian of his
+nephew, and could then call him his own, he
+seems, as a lady whose diary is embodied in
+the little book <i>Eine stille Liebe zu Beethoven</i>,
+informs us, to gain new life. He devoted
+himself heart and soul to the boy, and he
+wrote, or was unable to write, according as the
+care of his nephew brought him joy or sorrow.
+We can readily understand how it came to
+pass that he now penned the words found by
+the lady just mentioned, in a memorandum
+book of his: “My heart overflows at the
+aspect of the beauties of nature—and this
+without her.” His “distant loved one” was
+still to him the most valued possession of his
+life—more to him, even, than himself.</p>
+
+<p>He had now in view several great projects—among<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>
+them an opera, <i>Romulus</i>, by Treitschke,
+and an oratorio for the recently founded “Society
+of the Friends of Music,” in Vienna.
+The latter failed, through the niggardliness of
+the directors, and the former was not finished,
+although our artist never gave up the intention
+of completing it. In the autumn of 1816, an
+English general, Kyd, asked Beethoven to
+write a symphony, for two hundred ducats.
+But as the general wanted it written in the
+style of his earlier works, Beethoven himself
+refused to accept the commission. Yet this
+narrow English enthusiast had excited Beethoven’s
+imagination with glowing accounts of
+the harvest of profit he might reap in England,
+and as Beethoven had recently sold many of
+his works there, and as, besides, the new
+“Philharmonic Society” had handsomely remunerated
+him for these overtures, his intention
+of crossing the Channel began to assume
+a more definite form. His <i>Schlachtsymphonie</i>
+(battle-symphony), especially, had already met
+with a very flattering reception in England.
+And a project was on foot in that country, even
+now, to give him a “benefit” by the production
+of his own works; and such a “benefit”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>
+was actually given for him there when he was
+on his death-bed. He wrote in 1816 that it
+would flatter him to be able to write some new
+works, such as symphonies and an oratorio, for
+the Society which embraced a greater number
+of able musicians than almost any other in
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p>His diary covering this period to 1818, published
+in the work <i>Die Beethovenfeier und die
+deutsche Kunst</i>, because of the many items of
+interest it has in it, contains these characteristic
+lines: “Drop operas and everything else.
+Write only in your own style.” But even the
+sketches of the Seventh Symphony had the remark
+accompanying them: “2. Symphony in
+D minor,” and those of the eighth: “Symphony
+in D minor—3. Symphony.” Belonging to
+the years succeeding 1812, we find drafts of the
+<i>scherzo</i> of the Ninth Symphony. The headings
+above given undoubtedly had reference to this
+last, but the sketches of the first movement,
+decisive of the character of such a work, are
+not to be found until the year 1816, but then
+they are found with the physiognomy so masculine
+and so full of character which distinguishes
+this “symphony for London.” He once said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>
+of Englishmen that they were, for the most
+part, “clever fellows;” and he—of whom
+Zelter wrote to Goethe, that “he must have
+had a man for his mother”—felt that, in England,
+he, as a man, had to do with men, and,
+as an artist, to enter the list with Handel,
+whose own powerful influence was due to his
+decided manfulness of character. And then,
+had not England produced a tragic poet like
+Shakespeare, whom Beethoven loved above all
+others? Deep, tragic earnestness, and a masculine
+struggle with fate, are here the fundamental
+tone and design of the whole. “And
+then a cowl when thou closest thy unhappy
+life”—such is the conclusion of the lines
+quoted above, in which he says that he must
+write “only in his own style.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, in July, 1817, came from London
+the “direct commission” he had so long endeavored
+to obtain. The Society desired
+to send him a proof of their esteem and
+gratitude for the many happy moments his
+works had given them to enjoy, and invited
+him to come to London to write two great
+symphonies, promising him an honorarium of
+three hundred pounds sterling. Beethoven<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>
+immediately accepted the commission, and
+assured them that he would do his very best
+to execute it—honorable as it was to him, and
+coming as it did from so select a society of
+artists—in the worthiest manner possible.
+He promised to go to work immediately.
+“He believed that he could nowhere receive
+the distinction which his gigantic genius—in
+advance of his age by several centuries—deserved,
+as he could in Great Britain. The
+respect shown him by the English people,
+he valued more than that of all Europe
+besides. The feeling he had of his own
+powers may, indeed, have contributed to make
+him prefer the English nation to all others,
+especially as they showered so many marks of
+distinction on him.” Thus writes one of his
+most intimate friends in Vienna, Baron Von
+Zmeskall, already mentioned; and certain it
+is that he did his very best on this work. It,
+as well as the symphony in C minor, is of
+the true Beethoven type—more so, perhaps,
+than any other of his works—the full picture
+of his own personal existence and of the
+tragedy of human life in general. This work
+was followed by the Tenth Symphony, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>
+“poetical idea,” at least, of which we know.
+The first movement was intended to represent
+a “feast of Bacchus,” the <i>adagio</i> a <i>cantique
+ecclesiastique</i>, a church hymn, and the <i>finale</i>
+the reconciliation of the antique world, which
+he esteemed so highly with the spirit of
+Christianity, into the full depth of which he
+came to have a deeper insight every day that
+passed. We see that he had lofty plans, and
+that no poet ever soared to sublimer heights
+than he. We must bear these great plans
+and labors of Beethoven in mind if we would
+rightly understand his subsequent life—if we
+would comprehend how, in the desolate and
+distracted existence he was compelled henceforth
+to lead, he did not become a victim of
+torpidity, but that, on the contrary, the elasticity
+of his genius grew greater and greater,
+and that his creations gained both in depth
+and perfection.</p>
+
+<p>Thus do we see with our own eyes at least
+one of his works born of his own life.</p>
+
+<p>The songs <i>Ruf von Berge</i> and <i>So oder so</i>,
+were composed in the winter of 1816-17; and
+in the following spring, after the sudden death
+of one of his friends, the chorus <i>Rasch tritt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>
+der Tod</i>, from Schiller’s Tell. “O God, help
+me! Thou seest me forsaken by all mankind.
+O hard fate, O cruel destiny! No, no, no,
+my unhappy condition will never end. Thou
+hast no means of salvation but to leave here.
+Only by so doing canst thou rise to the height
+of thy art. Here thou art immersed in vulgarity.
+Only one symphony, and then away,
+away, away!” Thus does he write in his
+diary. He next, in 1817, finished the quintet
+fugue, op. 137, and, in 1818, the great
+sonata for the Hammer-clavier, op. 106. The
+<i>adagio</i> of the latter is the musical expression
+of earnest prayer to God. Its first movement
+shows how he had soared once more to the
+heights of his art. “The sonata was written
+under vexatious circumstances,” he says to his
+friend Ries; and to a younger fellow-artist,
+the composer Schnyder von Wartensee: “Go
+on. There is no calmer, more unalloyed or
+purer joy than that which arises from ascending
+higher and higher into the heaven
+of art.” Such, too, was his mood in those
+days when he promised his friend Zmeskall
+the trio for the piano in C minor, his op. 1,
+worked over into the quintet op. 104; for he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>
+wrote: “I rehearse getting nearer the grave,
+without music, every day.” In keeping with
+this is the song, <i>Lisch aus, mein Licht</i>, “Put
+out my light,” which also belongs to this
+period. The supplication: “O hear me always,
+Thou unspeakable One, hear me, thy
+unhappy creature, the most unfortunate of all
+mortals,” found in his diary, belongs to this
+same time. It is now easy to see that he was
+in a very suitable frame of mind when he
+resolved, in 1818, to write a solemn mass for
+the occasion of the inauguration of his distinguished
+pupil as Archbishop of Olmutz.
+It was the “little court,” the “little orchestra”
+for which he wished to write the music “for
+the honor of the Almighty, the Eternal, the
+Infinite;” for the Archduke thought of making
+him his <i>capellmeister</i> there. After four years’
+labor, the <i>Missa Solemnis</i>, op. 123, was finished.
+Beethoven called it “<i>l’œuvre le plus
+accompli</i>, my most finished work.” And, like
+the <i>Fidelio</i>, it is deserving of this characterization,
+but more on account of the pains
+taken with it and the labor expended on it
+than of its matter.</p>
+
+<p>“Sacrifice again all the trivialties of social<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>
+life to thy art. O, God above all! For Providence
+eternal omnisciently orders the happiness
+or unhappiness of mortal men.” With
+these words from the Odyssey, he resolved
+to consecrate himself to this great work.
+And it was a resolve in very deed. For, as
+in opera, he knew that he was here bound
+by traditionary forms—forms which, indeed,
+in some details afforded rich food to his own
+thoughts, but which, on the whole, hindered
+the natural flow of his fancy. We now
+approach a period in Beethoven’s life in
+which he was strangely secluded from the
+world. The painter, Kloeber, the author of
+the best known portrait of Beethoven, and
+which is to be found in <i>Beethoven’s Brevier</i>—it
+was painted during the summer of 1818—once
+saw him throw himself under a fir
+tree and look for a longtime “up into the
+heavens.” In some of the pages of his written
+conversations—for it was now necessary for him
+to have recourse to putting his conversations
+on paper more frequently on account of his increasing
+deafness—he wrote in the winter of
+1819-20: “Socrates and Jesus were patterns
+to me;” and after that: “The moral law within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>
+us and the starry heavens above us.—Kant!!!”
+Just as on the 4th of March, 1820, he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="first">“Ernte bald an Gottes Thron</div>
+<div class="verse">Meiner Leiden schoenen Lohn.”</div>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This was the time of the struggles with the
+mother of his “son” and of the heartfelt sorrow
+he had to endure on account of the moral
+ruin of the poor boy himself, who, always
+going from the one to the other, did not really
+know to whom he belonged, and who, therefore,
+deceived both. “From the heart—may
+it in turn appeal to hearts!” He wrote these
+words on the score of the mass; and Schindler,
+who was now his companion, says that
+“the moment he began this work his whole
+nature seemed to change.” He would sit in
+the eating-house sunk in deep thought, forget
+to order his meals, and then want to pay for
+them. “Some say he is a fool,” wrote Zelter
+to Goethe in 1819. And Schindler tells us
+“he actually seemed possessed in those days,
+especially when he wrote the fugue and the
+<i>Benedictus</i>.” That fugue, <i>Et vitam senturi</i>
+(life everlasting!) is the climax of the work,
+since the depiction of the imperishableness
+and inexhaustibleness of Being was what Beethoven’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>
+powerful mind was most used to.
+The wonderful <i>Benedictus</i>, (Blessed is he who
+cometh in the name of the Lord) whose tones
+seem to float down from heaven to earth, the
+bestowal of help from on high, was subsequently
+the model used by Wagner for his
+descent of the Holy Grail, the symbol of divine
+grace, in the prelude to the <i>Lohengrin</i>.
+“When I recall his state of mental excitement,
+I must confess that I never before, and never
+after this period of his complete forgetfulness
+of earth, observed anything like it in him.”
+So says Schindler. They had gone to visit
+him in Baden, near by, whither he repaired
+in the interest of his health, and where he
+loved so well to “wander through the quiet
+forest of firs” and think out his works. It
+was four o’clock in the afternoon. The door
+was closed, and they could hear him “singing,
+howling, stamping” at the fugue. After they
+had listened to this “almost horrible” scene,
+the door opened, and Beethoven stood before
+them, with trouble depicted on his countenance.
+He looked as if he had just gone
+through a struggle of life and death. “Pretty
+doings here; everybody is gone, and I have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>
+not eaten a morsel since yesterday noon,” he
+said. He had worked the previous evening
+until after midnight; and so the food had
+grown cold and the servants left in disgust.</p>
+
+<p>His work assumed greater and greater dimensions
+as he himself gradually rose to the
+full height of the subject. He no longer
+thought of completing it for the installation
+ceremonies. It became a grand fresco painting—a
+symphony in choruses on the words
+of the mass. He now began to work more
+calmly, and to compose at intervals other
+works, in order to quiet his over-excited mind
+and to earn a living for his “dear” nephew.
+And thus, while he was composing his mass, he
+produced not only the <i>Variirten Themen</i>, op.
+105 and 107, which Thompson, of Edinburg—who
+had sent Beethoven the Scotch songs
+like op. 108 to be arranged—had ordered, but
+also the three <i>Last Sonatas</i>, op. 109, dedicated
+to Bettina’s niece, Maximiliane Brentano, to
+whose excellent father he was indebted for
+ready assistance during these years of his
+pecuniary embarrassment; also op. 110, which
+was finished at Christmas, 1821, as op. 111
+was on the 13th of January, 1822. It is said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>
+that he entertained a higher opinion himself
+of these sonatas than of his previous ones.
+They are greatly superior, however, only in
+some of their movements; and they are written
+in the grand, free style of that period, especially
+the <i>arietta</i> in the last opus, the variations
+of which are real pictures of his own
+soul. In the intervals between them, however,
+we find some trifles such as the <i>Bagatellen</i>,
+op. 119, which his pecuniary condition
+made it imperative he should compose, since,
+“as a brave knight by his sword, he had to
+live by his pen.” And even the “<i>33 Veraenderungen</i>”
+(variations), op. 120, on the works
+of Diabelli, of the year 1822-23, are more the
+intellectual play of the inexhaustible fancy of
+an artist than the work of the genuine gigantic
+creative power which Beethoven undoubtedly
+possessed. He had overtaxed his strength
+working on the mass, and thus exhausted it
+for a moment. The two chorus-songs, op.
+121<sup>b</sup> and op. 122, the <i>Opferlied</i> and <i>Bundeslied</i>,
+which date from the year 1822-23, bear
+the stamp of occasional compositions, which
+they, in fact, are.</p>
+
+<p>But in the meantime the lion had roused<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>
+himself again. He now only needed to give
+the finishing touch to the Mass, and in the
+spring of 1823 the entire work was completed.
+The summer of 1822 found him fully engaged
+on the composition of that monument
+to his genius, the Ninth Symphony. Freedom
+from the torment of exhausting labor, and the
+entire surrender of himself to “his own style,”
+gave his fancy back its old elasticity and all
+its productive power. Scarcely any year of
+his life was more prolific of works than this
+year 1822.</p>
+
+<p>“Our Beethoven seems again to take a
+greater interest in music, which, since the
+trouble with his hearing began to increase, he
+avoided almost as a woman-hater avoids the
+sex. To the great pleasure of all, he improvised
+a few tunes in a most masterly manner.”
+Thus do we read in the Leipzig <i>Musikzeitung</i>,
+in the spring of 1822, and the Englishman,
+John Russell, gives us a charming description
+of such an evening in the Cotta <i>Beethovenbuch</i>.
+Weisse’s droll poem, <i>Der Kuss</i> (the kiss) op.
+128, is found among the serious sketches of
+this year. And now he received a whole
+series of commissions. An English captain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>
+named Reigersfeld, wanted a quartet, and
+Breitkopf and Haertel an operatic poem worthy
+of his art, before he “hung up his harp
+forever.” Others asked for other kinds of
+music. “In short,” he writes to his brother
+Johann, “people are fighting to get works from
+me, happy, unhappy man that I am. If my
+health is good, I shall yet be able to feather
+my nest.” Friederich Rochlitz brought him,
+too, a commission from Breitkopf and Haertel
+to write “music for Faust.” Rochlitz gives
+us a very interesting account of Beethoven’s
+appearance and whole mode of life at this
+time. Not Beethoven’s neglected, almost savage
+exterior, he says, not his bushy black
+hair, which hung bristling about his head,
+would have stirred him; what stirred him was
+the whole appearance of the deaf man who,
+notwithstanding his infirmity, brought joy to
+the hearts of millions—pure, intellectual joy.
+But when he received the commission, he
+raised his hand high up and exclaimed:
+“That might be worth while. But I have
+been intending for some time to write three
+other great works—two great symphonies, very
+different from each other, and an oratorio. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>
+shudder at the thought of beginning works of
+such magnitude. But once engaged on them,
+I shall find no difficulty.” He spoke of the
+Ninth Symphony, to which he had now begun
+to give the finishing touches, in all earnestness.</p>
+
+<p>This was interrupted for a short time by
+the overture, <i>Zur Weihe des Hauses</i> (op. 124),
+for the opening of the renovated Josephstadt
+theater with the “Ruins of Athens,” of 1812.
+It is the portal to the temple in which art is
+praised as something consecrated to the service
+of mankind—as a thing which may lift
+us for blissful moments into the region of the
+purifying and elevating influences of higher
+powers. Even in this work, which dates from
+September, 1822, we may hear the solemn
+sound and rhythm of the Ninth Symphony.
+And, indeed, after a memorandum on the
+“Hungarian Story,” we find in the sketches
+of it the words, “Finale, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,”
+together with the wonderfully simple
+melody itself, which sounds to humanity’s
+better self like the music of its own redemption.
+Beethoven’s own nature was deeply
+moved at this time. Weber’s <i>Freischuetz</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>
+with Wilhelmine Schroeder, afterwards so
+celebrated, had excited the greatest enthusiasm.
+Rossini’s reception in Vienna was “like
+an opeotheosis;” and Beethoven was determined
+to let the light of his genius shine forth,
+which he could do only by writing a work
+“in his own style.” The world was “his for
+another evening,” and he was anxious to turn
+that evening to account. And, indeed, had
+he not a world of sorrows to paint—sorrows
+which actual life had brought to him? He
+had also a world of joys—joys vouchsafed to
+him by his surrendering of himself to a higher
+life.</p>
+
+<p>An incident which occurred during this fall
+of 1822 tells us something of this gloomy night
+of his personal existence. Young Schroeder-Devrient,
+encouraged by her success with
+<i>Pamina</i> and <i>Agathe</i>, had chosen the <i>Fidelio</i>
+for her benefit, and Beethoven himself was to
+wield the baton. Schindler tells us how, even
+during the first scene of the opera, everything
+was in confusion, but that no one cared to
+utter the saddening words: “It’s impossible
+for you, unfortunate man.” Schindler finally,
+in response to Beethoven’s own questioning,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>
+wrote something to that effect down. In a
+trice, Beethoven leaped into the parterre, saying
+only: “Quick, out of here!” He ran
+without stopping to his dwelling, threw himself
+on the sofa, covered his face with his two
+hands, and remained in that position until
+called to table. But, even at table, he did not
+utter a word. He sat at it, the picture of the
+deepest melancholy. Schindler’s account of
+the incident closes thus: “In all my experience
+with Beethoven, this November day is
+without a parallel. It mattered not what disappointments
+or crosses misfortune brought
+him, he was ill-humored only for moments,
+sometimes depressed. He would, however,
+soon be himself again, lift his head proudly,
+walk about with a firm step, and rule in the
+workshop of his genius. But he never fully
+recovered from the effect of this blow.”</p>
+
+<p>The performance itself brought out, for
+the first time, in all its completeness, musico-dramatic
+art, in the representation of the
+scene, “Kill first his wife.” Richard Wagner,
+who has so highly developed this musico-dramatic
+art, admits that he acquired the real
+idea of plastic shaping for the stage from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>
+Schroeder-Devrient. To it, also, Beethoven,
+owed it that he was invited, during the same
+winter (1822-23), to compose a new opera. It
+was Grillparzer’s <i>Melusine</i>, but the intention
+to compose it was never carried into effect.</p>
+
+<p>We have now reached the zenith of the
+life of Beethoven as an artist. Besides the
+Ninth Symphony, he finished only the five
+last quartets which beam in their numerous
+movements like “the choir of stars about the
+sun.” The welcome incentive to the composition
+of these last came to him just at this time
+from the Russian, Prince Gallitizin, who gave
+him a commission to write them, telling him
+at the same time to ask what remuneration he
+wished for his work. But the Symphony filled
+up the next following year, 1823. Nothing
+else, except the “fragmentary ideas” of the
+<i>Bagatellen</i>, op. 126, engaged him during that
+time.</p>
+
+<p>“To give artistic form only to what we
+wish and feel, that most essential want of the
+nobler of mankind,” it is, as he wrote himself
+to the Archduke at this time, that distinguishes
+this mighty symphony, and constitutes,
+so to speak, the sum and substance of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>
+his own life and intuition. This symphony
+was soon connected in popular imagination
+with Goethe’s Faust, as representing the tragic
+course of human existence.</p>
+
+<p>And when we hear in mind how closely
+related just here the musician was to the poet,
+this interpretation of the work, given first by
+Richard Wagner on the occasion of its presentation
+in 1846 in Dresden, seems entirely
+warranted. What was there of which life had
+not deprived him? The words it had always
+addressed to him were these words from Faust:
+<i>Entbehren sollst du, sollst entbehren</i> (renounce
+thou must, thou must renounce). He now
+wished to paint a full picture of this vain
+struggle with relentless fate in tones, and what
+he had just gone through in his own experience
+enabled him to do it in living colors. All
+the recollections of his youth crowded upon
+him. There were the “pretty lively blonde”
+whom he had met in Bonn; Countess Giulietta,
+who had a short time before returned
+to Bonn with her husband; and his “distant
+loved one” in Berlin! A promenade through
+the lovely Heiligenstadt valley, in the spring
+of 1823, brought to his mind anew pictures<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>
+of the reconciling power of nature, as well as
+of the <i>Pastorale</i> and the C minor symphony.
+He was now able to form an idea of their
+common meaning, and to put an interpretation
+on them very different from his first idea and
+first interpretation of them. He began to have
+a much deeper insight into the ultimate questions
+and enigmas of existence.</p>
+
+<p>But, all of a sudden, his humor left him.
+He refused to receive any visitors. “Samothracians,
+come not here; bring no one to me,”
+he wrote to Schindler, from the scene of his
+quiet life in the country. What had never
+happened before, even when he was in the
+highest stages of intellectual exaltation, now
+came to pass: he repeatedly returned from his
+wanderings through the woods and fields without
+his hat. “There is nothing higher than
+to approach nearer to the Deity than other
+men, and from such proximity to spread the
+rays of the Deity among the human race.”
+In these words, directed to the Archduke
+Rudolph, he summed up his views of his art
+and what he wished to accomplish in it. It
+was everything to him—a language, consolation,
+admonition, light and prophecy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>This we learn most clearly from the Ninth
+Symphony, which he finished at this time, in
+Baden.</p>
+
+<p>From the dark abyss of nothing arises the
+Will, infinite Will: and with it the struggles
+and the sorrow of life. But it is no longer
+personal sorrow—for what is personal sorrow
+compared with the sorrow of the world as
+known to a great mind, experienced by a great
+heart?—it is the struggle for a higher existence
+which we “mortals have to engage in
+against the infinite spirit.” “Many a time
+did I curse my Creator because he has made
+his creatures the victims of the merest accidents.”
+Cries of anguish and anger like this—the
+cries of great souls whose broad vision is
+narrowed by the world, and whose powerful
+will is hampered—find utterance here. “I
+shall take fate by the jaws,” he says again,
+and how immense is the struggle as well as
+the consciousness of a higher, inalienable possession,
+which lives as a promise in the breasts
+of all! Such blows, murmurs, prayers, longings,
+such despair; and then, again, such
+strength and courage after trial, had never
+before been expressed in music. In the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>
+Ninth Symphony, we hear the voices of the
+powers which through all ages have been the
+makers of history; of the powers which preserve
+and renovate the life of humanity; and
+so the Will, the Intellect, man, after a terrible
+effort and concentration of self, stands firmly
+before us, bold and clear-eyed—for Will is
+the world itself.</p>
+
+<p>But when we see the man Beethoven, we
+find him divided against himself. We have
+often heard him say that he found the world
+detestable; and we shall again hear him express
+his opinion on that subject plainly
+enough, in this his work.</p>
+
+<p>In the second movement, which he himself
+calls only <i>allegro vivace</i>, and which, indeed, is
+no <i>scherzo</i>, not even a Beethoven-like one,
+but rather a painting, we have a dramatic
+picture of the earthly world in the whirl of
+its pleasures, from the most ingenuous joy of
+mere existence—such as he himself frequently
+experienced in such fullness that he leaped
+over chairs and tables—to the raging, uncontrollable
+Bacchanalian intoxication of enjoyment.
+But we have in it also a fresco painting
+of the “dear calmness of life,” of joy in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>
+the existing, of exultation and jubilation as
+well as of the demoniacal in sensuous life and
+pleasure. But what nutriment and satisfaction
+this splendid symphony affords to a noble
+mind! It carries such a man from the arms of
+pleasure to “the stars,” from art to nature,
+from appearance to reality.</p>
+
+<p>This ideal kingdom of the quiet, sublime
+order of the world, which calms our minds
+and senses, and expresses our infinite longings,
+is heard in the <i>adagio</i> of the work. And
+when, in an incomparably poetical union to
+the quiet course of the stars and to the eternally
+ordered course of things, the longing,
+perturbed human heart is contrasted by a
+second melody, with a wealth of inner beauty
+never before imagined, we at last see the soul,
+so to speak, disappear entirely before itself,
+dissolved in the sublimity of the All. The
+steps of time, expressed by the rhythm of the
+final chords, sound like the death knell of the
+human heart. Its wants and wishes are silenced
+in the presence of such sublimity, and sink to
+naught.</p>
+
+<p>But the world is man, is the heart, and
+wants to live, to live! And so here the final<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>
+echo is still the longing, sounding tones of
+human feeling.</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven himself tells us the rest of the
+development of this powerful tragedy, and
+thus confirms the explanation of it we have
+given, as well as the persistence of ultimate
+truth in his own heart; for in it we find—after
+the almost raging cry of all earthly existence
+in the orchestral storm of the beginning of
+the <i>finale</i>, which was even then called a “feast
+of scorn at all that is styled human joy”—in
+the sketches, as text to the powerful recitatives
+of the contra-bassos: “No, this confusion reminds
+us of our despairing condition. This is
+a magnificent day. Let us celebrate it with
+song.” And then follows the theme of the
+first movement: “O no, it is not this; it is
+something else that I am craving.” “The will
+and consciousness of man are at variance the
+one with the other, and the cause of man’s
+despairing situation.” Next comes the <i>motive</i>
+for the <i>scherzo</i>: “Nor is it this thing either;
+it is but merriness and small talk”—the trifles
+of sensuous pleasure. Next comes the theme of
+the <i>adagio</i>: “Nor is it this thing either,” and
+thereupon the words: “I myself shall sing—music<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>
+must console us, music must cheer us;”
+and then the melody, <i>Freude schoener Goetterfunken</i>,
+is heard, expressive of the newly-won
+peace of the soul, descriptive of human
+character in the full beauty of its simplicity
+and innocence restored. Beethoven knew from
+what depths of human nature music was born,
+and what its ultimate meaning to mankind is.</p>
+
+<p>We are made to experience this more fully
+still by the continuation of the <i>finale</i> which
+represents the solution of the conflict of this
+tragedy of life. For the “joy” that is here
+sung plainly springs from its only pure and
+lasting source, from the feeling of all-embracing
+love—that feeling which, as religion, fills
+the heart. The <i>Ihr stuerzt nieder, Millionen</i>
+is the foundation, the germ (to express it in
+the language of music of double counterpoint)
+of the <i>Seid umschlungen, Millionen</i>,
+and then the whole sings of joy as the transfiguration
+of the earthly world by eternal love.
+The will can accomplish nothing greater than
+to sacrifice itself for the good of the whole.
+To our great artist, the greatest and most wonderful
+phenomenon in the world was not the
+conqueror but the overcomer of the world;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>
+and he knew that this spirit of love cannot die.</p>
+
+<p>This is celebrated by the <i>finale</i> as the last
+consequence of the “struggle with fate,” of
+man’s life-struggle. Is it claiming too much
+to say that out of the spirit of this music a
+“new civilization” and an existence more
+worthy of human beings might be developed,
+since it leads us back to the foundation and
+source of civilization and human existence—to
+religion? Beethoven was one of those
+great minds who have added to the intellectual
+possessions of our race in regions which extend
+far beyond the merely beautiful in art.
+When we bear this in mind, we can understand
+why he wanted to write a tenth symphony
+as the counterpart and final representation
+of these highest conceptions of the nature
+and goal of our race. This tenth symphony
+he intended should transfigure the merely humanly
+beautiful of the antique world in the
+light of the refined humanity of modern ideas—the
+earthly in the light of the heavenly. And
+we may understand, too, what we are told of
+himself, that as soon as cheerfulness beamed
+in his countenance, it shed about him all the
+charms of childlike innocence. “When he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>
+smiled,” we are told, “people believed not
+only in him, but in humanity.” Occasionally
+there would blossom on his lips a smile which
+those who saw could find no other word to describe
+but “heavenly.” So full was his heart
+of hearts of the highest treasure of humanity.</p>
+
+<p>We shall see how the last quartets, which
+follow now, represent this, his sublime transfigured
+condition of soul, in the most varied
+pictures, and disclose it to the very bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Of works composed during this period, we
+may mention: March to “Tarpeja” and the
+<i>Bardengeist</i> composed in 1813; <i>Gute Nachricht</i>,
+<i>Elegischer Gesang</i>, <i>Kriegers Abschied</i>,
+composed in 1814; Duos for the clarionette and
+bassoon, which appeared in 1815; <i>Es ist vollbracht</i>,
+<i>Sehnsucht</i>, Scotch songs, composed in
+1815; <i>Der Mann von Wort</i>, op. 99. <i>Militaermarsch</i>,
+composed in 1816; quintet op. 104
+(after op. 1, III), composed in 1817; <i>Clavierstueck</i>
+in B, composed in 1818; <i>Gratulations-menuet</i>,
+composed in 1822. It will be noticed
+that the number of his works grows steadily
+smaller according as their volume or their
+depth of meaning grows greater. This last will
+be evident especially from his subsequent quartets
+which, so to speak, stand entirely alone.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<p class="ph1">1824-27.</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">THE LAST QUARTETS.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>Berlioz on the Lot of Artists—Beethoven Misunderstood—The
+Great Concert of May, 1824—Preparation for It—Small
+Returns—Beethoven Appreciated—First Performance of
+the Missa Solemnis and of the Ninth Symphony—The
+Quartets—An “Oratorio for Boston”—Overture on
+B-A-C-H—Influence of His Personal Experience on His
+Works—His Brother Johann—Postponement of His Journey
+to London—Presentiment of Death—The Restoration
+of Metternich and Gentz—His “Son”—Troubles with the
+Young Man—Debility—Calls for Dr. Malfatti—Poverty—The
+“Magnanimous” English—Calls a Clergyman—His
+Death.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Noble</span> souls fall usually only because they
+do not know the mournful but incontestable
+truth that, considering our present customs
+and political institutions, the artist has more
+to suffer in proportion as he is a genuine artist.
+The more original and gigantic his
+works are, the more severely is he punished
+for the effects they produce. The swifter and
+sublimer his thoughts, the more does he vanish
+from the dim vision of the multitude.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>
+Thus did Beethoven’s direct successor in art,
+Hector Berlioz, complain at the end of his
+days; and to whom can what he says here be
+applied with more propriety than to our artist,
+especially at this period of his life, when his
+thoughts took their sublimest flight? His
+action now seemed indeed to assure him unconditional
+victory, even in his immediate
+environment—we are approaching the celebrated
+concert of May, 1824—but how soon
+shall we see him again misunderstood by the
+crowd and, as a consequence, lonelier than ever
+before.</p>
+
+<p>He had again enjoyed to the full the “higher
+life which art and science imply, and which
+they give it to us to hope for;” and he, in
+consequence, became exceedingly neglectful of
+himself; so that his brother found it necessary
+to say to him: “You must buy yourself a new
+hat to-morrow. The people make merry at your
+expense because you have so bad a hat.” But
+now that the “colossal creation” was finished,
+even to the last iota, he began to be in better
+humor, to stroll about the streets gazing at the
+show-windows, and to salute many an old
+friend, as, for instance, his former teacher,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>
+Schenk, more warmly. His name was now
+more frequently on the lips of friends, and
+when it was known that a great symphony, as
+well as the Mass, was finished, people recalled
+the boundless rapture of the years 1813-14;
+and a letter signed by men of the higher
+classes of society—men whom Beethoven himself
+loved and honored—invited him, in February,
+1824, to abstain no longer from the
+performance of something great. And, indeed,
+the Italian <i>roulade</i> and all kinds of
+purely external <i>bravoura</i> had obtained supremacy
+in Vienna. The “second childhood of
+taste” threatened to follow the “golden age
+of art.” It was hoped that home art would
+receive new life from Beethoven, who, in his
+own sphere, had no equal, and that, thanks to
+his influence, the true and the beautiful would
+rule supreme again.</p>
+
+<p>Schindler found him with the manuscript
+in his hand. “It is very pretty! I am glad!”
+Beethoven said, in a very peculiar tone. And
+another hope was bound up with this. He
+hoped to obtain compensation for his long
+labor, and, in this way, leisure to produce
+something new worthy of his genius. The preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>
+for the concert was attended by very
+much that was disagreeable. His own want of
+resolution and suspicious manner contributed
+their share to this. With the most splenetic
+humor, he writes: “After six weeks’ vexation,
+I am boiled, stewed, roasted.” And when
+several of his more intimate friends, like Count
+Lichnowsky, Schuppanzigh and Schindler, resorted
+to a little subterfuge to make him come
+to some resolve, he said: “I despise deceit.
+Visit me no more. And let him visit me no
+more. I’m not giving a party.” But, on the
+other hand, the first violinists of the city—Schuppanzigh,
+Mayseder and Boehm, who is
+still living—together with <i>capellmeister</i> Umlauf,
+were at the head of the orchestra, while
+a large number of amateurs were ready to lend
+their assistance at a moment’s notice. Their
+motto was: “Anything and everything for
+Beethoven!” And thus the preparations for
+the performance of Beethoven’s great creations
+were begun.</p>
+
+<p>“Just as if there were words beneath them?”
+asked Schindler, speaking of the powerful recitatives
+of the basses in the Ninth Symphony.
+Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger, both<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>
+subsequently so celebrated, found it exceedingly
+difficult to execute the solos in the Mass
+and the <i>finale</i>; but to all prayers that they
+might be changed, Beethoven had only one
+answer: “No!” To which Henriette finally
+replied: “Well, in God’s name, let us torment
+ourselves a little longer, take a little more
+trouble, and attempt it.” The performance
+was to occur on the 7th of May. That “rare,
+noble man,” Brunswick had, as he said, brought
+“four ears” with him, that he might not lose a
+single note. Frau von Ertmann was again in
+Vienna. The boxes were all soon taken, and
+many seats were sold at a premium. Beethoven
+personally invited the court. His trusted
+servant, who was specially helpful to him on
+this occasion, said to him: “We shall take
+your green coat with us, too; the theater is
+dark; no one can see us. O my great master,
+not a black dress coat have you in your possession.”
+The house was crowded to over-fullness.
+Only the court box was almost empty,
+on account of the Emperor’s absence. Beethoven’s
+attendant again tells us: “His reception
+was more than imperial; at the fourth
+round of applause, the people became vociferous.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>
+And Boehm tells us how the tears
+rushed into his own and Mayseder’s eyes at
+the very beginning. And what a success the
+performance was!</p>
+
+<p>In one of the accounts of it that have come
+down to us, we read: “Never in my life did
+I hear such tempestuous and at the same time
+such hearty applause. At one place—where
+the kettle-drums so boldly take up the rhythmic
+<i>motive</i> alone—the second movement of
+the symphony was totally interrupted by the
+applause; the tears stood in the eyes of the
+performers; Beethoven, however, contrived to
+wield the baton until Umlauf called his attention
+to the action of the audience by a motion
+of his hand. He looked at them and bowed
+in a very composed way.” At the close the
+applause was greater still. Yet, strange to
+say, the man who was the cause of it all again
+turned his back to the enthusiastic audience.
+At this juncture, the happy thought occurred
+to Unger to wheel Beethoven about towards
+the audience, and to ask him to notice their
+applause with their waving of hats and handkerchiefs.
+He testified his gratitude simply
+by bowing, and this was the signal for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>
+breaking forth of a jubilation such as had
+scarcely ever before been heard in a theater,
+and which it seemed would never end. The
+next day, we read, in his conversation leaves,
+what some one said to him: “Everybody is
+shattered and crushed by the magnitude of
+your works.”</p>
+
+<p>And now, what of the pecuniary success of
+the performance? It was measured by about
+one hundred and twenty marks. The expenses
+attending it had been too great. Besides, regular
+subscribers, entitled to their seats in boxes,
+did not pay a farthing for this concert. The
+court did not send in a penny, which, however,
+they were wont not to fail to do on the occasion
+of the commonest benefits. When Beethoven
+reached his home, Schindler handed him the
+account of the receipts. “When he saw it, he
+broke down entirely. We took him and laid
+him on the sofa. We remained at his side
+until late in the night. He asked neither for
+food nor for anything else. Not an audible
+word did he utter. At last, when we observed
+that Morpheus had gently closed his eyes, we
+retired. His servant found him next morning
+in his concert toilette (his green dress coat)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>
+in the same place, asleep.” This account is
+by Schindler, who, together with the young
+official, Joseph Huettenbrenner, one of Franz
+Schubert’s intimate friends, had taken him
+home on this occasion.</p>
+
+<p>This was the first performance of the <i>Missa
+Solemnis</i> (op. 123) and of the Ninth Symphony
+(op. 125). It took place on the 7th of May,
+1824. The fact that when the performance
+was repeated on the 24th of May, spite of the
+additional attraction of the “adored” tenor,
+David, who sang Rossini’s <i>Di tanti palpiti</i>,
+(after so much pain), the house was half empty,
+shows that, after all, it was more curiosity
+to see the celebrated deaf man than real taste
+for art which had filled it the first time. Like
+Mozart, Beethoven did not live long enough to
+pluck even the pecuniary fruits of his genius.
+Not till 1845 did the magnanimous liberality
+of one who was really permeated by his spirit
+bring it to pass that a monument was erected
+to him in his native city, Bonn, as that same
+liberality has brought it to pass that one has
+been erected to him, in our own day, in his
+second home, Vienna. We have reference to
+the royal gift and to the equally rich playing
+of Franz Liszt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>It now became more imperative for him to
+give his attention to those compositions which
+promised him some immediate return, to the
+quartets, to write which he had received a
+commission from persons as noted for their
+generosity to him as for their love of art.
+These and the op. 127 occupy the first
+place in this brilliant constellation of art.
+“I am not writing what I should prefer
+to write. I am writing for the money I
+need. When that end is satisfied, I hope
+to write what is of most importance to
+myself and to art—Faust.” He thus expressed
+himself when engaged in the composition
+of the Ninth Symphony, and there
+was some talk of his writing an “Oratorio for
+Boston.” And so, likewise, the German Melusine
+and an opera for Naples, the Requiem,
+the tenth symphony, and an overture on
+B-A-C-H remained projects and no more.
+But they were also a great prospect for the future
+while he was engaged in the labors of
+the day; and they exercised no inconsiderable
+influence on the composition of the quartets
+themselves. The more he became interested
+in these works—and what works were better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>
+calculated to interest a composer of such poetic
+power—the more did these ideas become
+interwoven into the works themselves. They
+generated the peculiarly grand style and
+the monumental character which distinguish
+these last quartets. The soul-pictures from
+Faust especially are here eloquently re-echoed
+in the most sublime monologues. And, indeed,
+the Prince, who had given him the commission
+to write them, seemed to be the very
+man to induce Beethoven to achieve what was
+highest and best in art, even in such a narrow
+sphere. For he had so arranged it that, even
+before its production in Vienna, that “sublime
+masterpiece,” the Mass, was publicly performed.
+He informs us that the effect on the public
+was indescribable; that he had never before
+heard anything, not even of Mozart’s music,
+which had so stirred his soul; that Beethoven’s
+genius was centuries in advance of
+his age, and that probably there was not
+among his hearers a single one enlightened
+enough to take in the full beauty of his music.
+On the other hand, there reigned in
+Vienna that weak revelry of the period of the
+restoration, with its idol Rossini, a revelry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>
+which had driven all noble and serious music
+into the background. Besides, the Prince had
+ordered that the costs for musical composition
+should be curtailed “to any desired sum.”</p>
+
+<p>Beethoven now went to work in earnest,
+and this composition was destined to be his
+last.</p>
+
+<p>He had already made a great many drafts
+of the works above mentioned, one for op. 127
+in the summer of 1822, one for the succeeding
+quartet in A minor (op. 131), in the year
+1823, when he was completing the Ninth
+Symphony. Both op. 127 and the quartet
+in A minor remind us, in more ways than
+one, of the style of the Ninth Symphony—the
+latter by its passion so full of pain, the former,
+with its <i>adagio</i>, where the longing glances
+to the stars have generated a wonderful,
+melancholy peace of soul. The immediately
+following third quartet (op. 130) stands out
+before us like a newly created world, but one
+which is “not of this world.” And, indeed,
+the events in Beethoven’s life became calculated
+more and more to liberate him, heart
+and soul, from this world, and the whole composition
+of the quartets appears like a preparation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>
+for the moment when the mind,
+released from existence here, feels united with
+a higher being. But it is not a painfully
+happy longing for death that here finds expression.
+It is the heartfelt, certain and
+joyful feeling of something really eternal and
+holy that speaks to us in the language of a
+new dispensation. And even the pictures of
+the world here to be found, be they serious or
+gay, have this transfigured light—this outlook
+into eternity. There is little in the
+world of art, in which the nature of the
+religious appears so fully in its substance and
+essence without showing itself at any time
+otherwise than purely human, and therefore
+imperishable—never clothed in an accidental
+and perishable garb. This explains how a
+people not noted for any musical genius, but
+who are able to understand the spirit and
+meaning of music, the English, whom Beethoven
+himself esteemed so highly, considered
+his music “so religious.” And, indeed, his
+music is religious in its ultimate meaning and
+spirit. This character of his music finds its
+purest and most striking expression in the last
+quartets; and these quartets enable us to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>
+understand the saying of Richard Wagner,
+Beethoven’s truest pupil and successor, that
+our civilization might receive a new soul from
+the spirit of this music, and a renovation of
+religion which might permeate it through and
+through.</p>
+
+<p>We now pass to an account of the details
+of the origin of these works.</p>
+
+<p>The bitterness which Beethoven was destined
+henceforth to taste proceeded for the
+most part from his own relatives. “God is
+my witness, my only dream is to get away
+entirely from you, from my miserable brother,
+and from this despicable family which has
+been tied to me,” he writes, in 1825, to his
+growing nephew. We cannot refrain from
+touching on these sad things, because now,
+especially, they exercised the greatest influence
+on his mind and on his pecuniary circumstances,
+and because they finally led to a
+catastrophe which played a part in bringing
+about his premature death.</p>
+
+<p>His weak and “somewhat money-loving”
+brother, Johann, had, indeed, in consequence
+of Beethoven’s own violent moral interference,
+married a silly wife. He found it impossible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>
+to control her course, or even to get a divorce
+from her, because he had made over to her a
+part of his property, and was “inflexible” on
+this very point. And so the brother was not
+able, spite of many invitations, to induce
+Beethoven to visit him even once on his estate
+of Wasserhof, near Gneixendorf, on the Danube.
+Ludwig wrote him, in the summer of
+1823: “O accursed shame! Have you not a
+spark of manhood in you? Shall I debase myself
+by entering such company?” Yet, his
+sister-in-law was “tamed” by degrees. But
+the mother of the boy continued, now that he
+was beginning to mature, to draw him into her
+own baneful circle, and, as Beethoven wrote
+in the summer of 1824, into the poisonous
+breath of the dragon; and levity, falsehood
+and unbecoming behavior towards his uncle,
+who was at the same time a father to him,
+followed. Carried away by the impulses of
+his moral feelings, the latter was severe even
+to harshness with the boy, and yet could not
+dispense with the young man’s company because
+of his increasing age and isolation. The
+natural craving for love, moral severity and
+the consciousness of paternal duty, wove the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>
+texture of which our artist’s shroud was made.</p>
+
+<p>The correspondence of this year, 1824,
+turns principally upon the pecuniary realization
+from his new, great works; for he wanted
+to be in London in the fall without fail. We
+have also a letter of his about his will, to his
+lawyer, Dr. Bach, dated in the summer. He
+writes: “Only in divine art is the power
+which gives me the strength to sacrifice to the
+heavenly muses the best part of my life.”
+We hear also the celestial sounds of the
+<i>adagio</i>, op. 127, ringing in our ears. He was
+himself filled with this true “manna;” for
+he exclaims in these same summer days,
+“Apollo and the muses will not yet allow me
+to be delivered over to the hands of death, for
+I yet owe them what the Spirit inspires me
+with and commands me to finish. I feel as if
+I had written scarcely a note.” And we
+even now find the sketches of those pieces
+expressive of a happiness more than earthly,
+or else, in gay irony, of contempt for the existing
+world, or of the mighty building up of
+a new world; the <i>alla danza tedesca</i> and the
+<i>poco scherzando</i> of op. 130, as well as the
+great fugue, op. 133, which was intended to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>
+be the original <i>finale</i> of op. 130, and which,
+by its superscription, “overture” and the
+gigantic strides in its theme, reminds us of
+the plan of the <i>Bachouverture</i>. Even the unspeakably
+deep melancholy and, at the same
+time, blissful, hopeful <i>cavatina</i> of the same
+third quartet op. 130, blossoms forth now
+from the feeling of his heart, which has taken
+into itself the full meaning of the eternal, and
+is filled with a higher joy. We here find, as
+in the last tones of Mozart’s soul, the germs
+of a new and deep-felt language of the heart,
+a real personal language, acquired to humanity
+for the expression of its deepest secrets, and
+which, in our own day, has led to the most
+touching soul-pictures in art—to the transfiguration
+of Isolde, and to Bruennhild’s dying
+song of redeeming love.</p>
+
+<p>A mighty seriousness overpowers him. The
+desolate horrors that surround him endow him
+with the power to understand more clearly
+the higher tasks of the mind in which his
+art had a living part. We see plainly that
+his nature tends more and more towards the
+one thing necessary—“All love is sympathy,”
+sympathy with the sorrows of the world,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>
+says the philosopher. And so while his vision
+takes an immense sweep over the field
+of existence, we see that an inexhaustible
+source of patient goodness and of the kindest
+and most heartfelt love, springs up within
+him. “From childhood up it was my greatest
+happiness to be able to work for others,”
+he once said; and again when the overture,
+op. 24, was reproduced: “I was very much
+praised on this account, etc. But what is
+that all to the great Master of Tones above—above—above!
+rightly the Most High, when
+here below it is used only for purposes of ridicule.
+Most high dwarfs!!!” We here listen
+to the sublime irony of his tones in op. 130,
+but also to the lustrous mildness of the <i>adagio</i>
+of op. 127, in which in the little movement in
+E major, the human soul itself, filled with the
+spirit of the Eternal, so to speak, opens its eyes
+and looks upward. “I am what is, I am all
+that is, that was and that will be. No mortal
+man has lifted my veil. He comes from Himself
+alone, and to this Only One all things
+owe their existence.” Beethoven wrote out
+this Egyptian saying in this summer of 1824,
+framed it and placed it on his writing table<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>
+before him. He well knew what the really
+creative and preserving deity in human life
+is. That deity lived in his own most heartfelt
+thought and feeling. It was to him a continual
+source of bliss. It inspired his pen. To
+it he was indebted for the poetic creations
+which sprung unbidden from his brain.</p>
+
+<p>The quartet in A minor, op. 132, belongs to
+the spring and summer of 1825. His journey
+to London had been postponed. Schindler
+gives as the reason of this, the “bad behavior
+of his dearly beloved nephew, which had become
+somewhat notorious.” How could his
+“son” be abandoned, thus unguarded, to “the
+poisonous breath of the dragon?” But as the
+invitation was renewed, the Tenth Symphony
+was again taken in hand, and from the
+sketches of it now made, we know all that is
+certain about it. It was intended to do no
+less than to add the “beautiful to the good,”
+to wed the spirit of Christianity to the beauty
+of the antique, or rather to transfigure the
+mere worldly beauty of the antique in the
+light of the superterrestrial. We find, indeed,
+a picture of this kind, a direct, intentional,
+higher picture of the world in the <i>adagio,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>
+in modo lidico</i>, in the second quartet. It is
+called the “Song of Thanksgiving of a Convalescent
+to the Deity,” and is a choral between
+the repetitions of which, ever richer
+and more heartfelt, the joyful pulsations of
+new life are expressed. Beethoven had been
+seriously sick during this spring. His affection
+for his nephew had assumed, in consequence
+of one continual irritation of his feelings,
+the nature of a passion which tormented
+the boy to death, but which, like every passion,
+brought no happiness to Beethoven himself.
+The first movement of this quartet in
+A minor is a psychological picture—a poem of
+the passions—the consuming character of
+which can be explained only by this very
+condition of the artist’s own soul. And how
+Beethoven’s creations always came from his
+own great soul, that soul so fully capable of
+every shade of feeling and excitement! The
+account left us by the young poet, Rellstab,
+written in the spring of 1825, gives us a perfect
+description of the state Beethoven was in
+at this time. He describes him “a man with a
+kindly look, but a look also of suffering.”
+Beethoven’s own letters confirm the correctness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>
+of this description. “In what part of me
+am I not wounded and torn?” he cries out to
+his nephew, whose frivolity had already begun
+to bear evil fruit. On another occasion he
+said: “O, trouble me no more. The man
+with the scythe will not respite me much
+longer.”</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding this, however, or perhaps
+because of this extreme excitement of his
+whole nature, the summer of 1825 was very
+rich in productions. “Almost in spite of himself,”
+he had to write the quartet in C sharp
+minor (op. 131); after that in B flat major (op.
+130). The last quartet also, that in F major,
+had its origin in that “inexhaustible fancy”—a
+fancy which always tended to the production
+of such works. Hence it is that the
+number of movements increases. The second
+has five; the third (B flat major), six; and the
+fourth (C sharp minor), seven—as if the old
+form of the suite, or the <i>divertimento</i> of the
+septet was to be repeated. But a moment’s
+comparison immediately shows the presence of
+the old organic articulation of the form of the
+sonata. These movements are in fact only
+transitions to, and connecting links between,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>
+two colossal movements. They increase the
+usual number of movements, although frequently
+nothing more than short sentences,
+and at times only a few measures. But the
+introductory movement and the <i>finale</i> in the
+quartet in A minor loom up like the pillars
+of Hercules, and determine the impassioned
+character and the dramatic style of the whole.
+Beethoven himself called it a piece of art
+worthy of him. The same may be said of op. 130,
+when the great fugue, op. 133, is considered
+a part of it, which in our day it should always
+be conceded to be. And how immensely great
+is this spirit when, in the quartet in C sharp
+minor, it awakes from the most profound contemplation
+of self to the contemplation of the
+world and its pain.—“Through sorrow, joy!”</p>
+
+<p>We must refer the reader to the third
+volume of <i>Beethoven’s Leben</i>, published in
+Leipzig in 1877, for a detailed account of the
+desolation of our artist, produced by the narrow
+circle with which the restoration of Metternich
+and Gentz surrounded him, at a time
+when his own mind and feeling were expanding
+to greater dimensions than ever before.
+To the same source we must send him for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>
+description of the full earnestness and greatness
+of this last period in the life of our artist.
+In that work was for the first time presented
+to the public, from original sources, and especially
+from the records of Beethoven’s written
+conversations, extant in the Berlin library,
+the comfortless—but at the same time, and
+spite of continual torment, intellectually exalted—picture
+of his character. “Words are
+interdicted. It is a fortunate thing that tones
+are yet free,” wrote Ch. Kuffner, the poet of
+the oratorio, <i>Saul and David</i>, to him at this
+time—a work in which he wished to give expression
+both to his own relation as a human
+being to his “David,” and to the wonder-working
+nature of his art. The execution of
+this plan was prevented only by death. The
+general demoralization which had invaded
+Vienna with the Congress made its effects felt
+directly in his own circle, through the agency
+of his nephew, and thus paved the way for
+disaster to himself. “Our age has need of
+vigorous minds to scourge these paltry, malicious,
+miserable wretches,” he cries out at this
+very time to his nephew, who had permitted
+himself to make merry, in a manner well calculated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>
+to irritate, at the expense of a genuine
+<i>faijak</i>—as Beethoven was wont now to call
+the good Viennese—the music-dealer Haslinger;
+and the matter had become public.
+But he adds to the above: “Much as my heart
+resists causing pain to a single human being.”
+And, indeed, his heart knew nothing of such
+anger or vengeance. It was always a real sympathizer
+with the sorrows born of human
+weakness—a sorrow which with him swelled
+to the dimensions of the world-sorrow itself.
+To this feeling his op. 130 in B flat major is
+indebted for its series of pictures, in which
+we see the world created, as it were, anew with
+a bold hand, with the ironic, smiling, melancholy,
+humorous, cheerful coloring of the
+several pieces—pieces which, indeed, are no
+mere sonata movements, but full pictures of
+life and of the soul. The <i>cavatina</i> overtops
+it as a piece of his own heart, which, as he
+admitted himself to K. Holz, always drew from
+him “fresh tears.”</p>
+
+<p>“Imitate my virtues, not my faults,” he
+implores his “son.” Speaking of the rabble
+of domestics, he says: “I have had to suffer
+the whole week like a saint;” and, on another<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>
+occasion, still more painfully: “May God be
+with, thee and me. It will be all over soon
+with thy faithful father.” His days, so
+strangely divided between the loftiest visions
+of the spirit and the meanest troubles of life,
+henceforth render him more and more indifferent
+to the latter. We find persons invade
+his circle whom otherwise he would never
+have permanently endured about him, and
+who frequently led him into minor sorts of
+dissipation even in public places. This reacted
+on the nephew, whose respect for the
+character of his “great uncle” could not long
+stand a course of action apparently like his
+own. But even now we see a picture in tones
+of which one of the <i>faijaks</i>, the government
+officer and dilettante, Holz, who copied it,
+writes to Beethoven himself: “When one
+can survey it thus calmly, new worlds come
+into being.” We have reference to the quartet
+in C sharp minor, op. 131. “With a look
+beaming with light, dripping with sorrow and
+joy,” young Dr. Rollett saw him at this
+time in beautiful Baden, and, indeed, this
+work, which he himself called the “greatest”
+of his quartets, discloses to us, in a manner different<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>
+from the Ninth Symphony, the meaning
+of his own life, which he here himself, as
+Richard Wagner has said, displayed to us, a
+wild melody of pleasure and pain. But we
+now recognize more clearly that something
+“like a vulture is devouring his heart.” We,
+indeed, are drawing near to the catastrophe
+which led to his premature end.</p>
+
+<p>As early as in the fall of 1825 he had witnessed
+“stormy scenes.” An uncontrollable
+love of gaming and a habit of loitering about
+the streets had led the young man into worse
+and worse courses, to falsehood and embezzlement.
+And when these were discovered,
+he secretly ran away from home. It was not
+long, however, before the loving weakness of
+his uncle called him back. The only effect
+of this was henceforth to condemn Beethoven
+himself to a slavish, too slavish life, one which
+would have been a torment even to an ordinary
+mortal, but which must have been doubly so
+to a passionate, great man who was deaf. The
+nephew found fault with his uncle, with his
+“reproaches” and “rows.” He accused him
+even of having led him into had company.
+He dreaded other reproaches still and was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>
+afraid of even personal violence. At last, one
+day in the summer of 1826, the uncle received
+the frightful news that his son had left his
+dwelling with a pair of pistols, and intended to
+take his own life. A long and terrible morning
+was spent searching for the unfortunate
+youth, who was finally led home, with a
+wound in his head, from Baden. “It’s done
+now. Torment me no longer with reproofs
+and complaints,” he writes; and his disposition
+and feeling may be inferred from the words
+found in his conversation leaves: “I have
+grown worse, because my uncle wanted to
+make me better;” and from these others:
+“He said it was not hatred, but a very different
+feeling, that moved him against you.”</p>
+
+<p>The uncle, alas! understood these expressions
+better than those about him. These had
+only words of reproach for the reprobate deed.
+“Evidences of the deepest pain were plainly
+to be seen in his bent attitude. The man, firm
+and upright in all the movements of his
+body, was gone. A person of about seventy
+was before us—yielding, without a will, the
+sport of every breath of air.” So wrote
+Schindler. Beethoven called for the Bible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>
+“in the real language into which Luther
+had translated it.” A few days later, we
+find in his conversations the following memorandum:
+“On the death of Beethoven.”
+Did he mean his own death, or the death
+of the beloved boy with whom he had, so to
+speak, lost his own life? Be this as it
+may, he now sang the deepest song of his
+soul, and it was destined to be his dying song.
+We refer to the <i>adagio</i> in the last quartet, op.
+135. His harp soon after this grew silent, and
+forever. Henceforth we have only projects or
+fragments of works. But he touched it once
+more, like King Gunther in the Edda, “seated
+among serpents,” the most venomous of
+which—the pangs of his own conscience—menaced
+him with death. Among the pictures
+in which he paints the meaning of a theme
+similar to that of this <i>adagio</i> (pieces thus independent
+of one another cannot rightly be
+called variations), there is one whose minor
+key and rhythm show it to be a funeral ceremony
+of touching sublimity. But whatever guilt
+he may have incurred he atoned for in his
+heart of hearts by love. Such is this picture.
+His soul is free. This the theme itself<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span>
+tells us, eloquently and distinctly. Here the
+soul, in melancholy stillness, revolves about its
+own primeval source, and towards the close
+plumes its wing for a happy, lofty flight, to
+regions it has longed to enter. The other
+pictures show us this full, certain and joyful
+possession of one’s self, and the last even seems
+to resolve the soul into its faculties when it
+floats about the Eternal Being in the most
+blissful happiness—a vision and condition
+which, of all the means of expression of the
+intellect, only music is able to describe, and
+which proves to us that, in the case of our
+artist, both fear and death had long been overcome.</p>
+
+<p>And thus it comes that a movement with
+which there is none to be compared, one which
+to our feelings is the richest and most perfect of
+all movements, and, at the same time, of the
+most brilliant transparency, made its way into
+a work which otherwise shows no trace of the
+magnitude of this his last effort. For the
+<i>finale</i> is only a sham-play of those magic
+powers which our master so well knew how
+to conjure up, both in sublime horror and in
+saving joy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>But his physical condition was soon destined
+to be in keeping with the condition of his soul
+above described. When, indeed, Karl was
+convalescing as well as could be desired, and
+he had decided to follow the military calling,
+Beethoven’s friends noticed that, externally
+at least, he again looked fresh and cheerful.
+“He knew,” says Schindler, “how to rise
+superior to his fate, and his whole character
+bore an ‘antique dignity.’” But even now
+he told the old friend of his youth, Wegeler,
+that he intended “to produce only a few more
+great works, and then, like an old child, to
+close his earthly career somewhere among good
+men.” And, indeed, his whole inner nature
+seemed shattered. “What dost thou want?
+Why dost thou hang thy head? Is not the
+truest resignation sufficient for thee, even if
+thou art in want?” This one conversation
+with Karl tells us everything.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, serious symptoms of disease appeared.
+A single blow, and his powerful,
+manly form was shattered like that of the
+meanest of mortals. And, indeed, that blow
+was struck with almost unexpected violence.</p>
+
+<p>After his recovery, Karl was released by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>
+the police on the express condition that he
+would remain in Vienna only one day more.
+His scar, however, prevented his entering the
+service. Where, then, could he go, now that
+the fall was just beginning? His brother,
+Johann, invited him to his Wasserhof estate
+near Gneixendorf. He could no longer answer
+as he had once: <i>non possibile per me</i>—impossible
+for me. But his sojourn in a country
+house not constructed so as to guard against
+the cold and dampness, a want of attention to
+his growing infirmity, misunderstandings with
+his brother’s wife, a violent quarrel with the
+brother himself, who, after it, refused him the
+use of his close carriage, and, lastly, his departure
+in the cold of winter in the “devil’s
+own worst conveyance.” All these causes conspired
+to send our patient back to Vienna, the
+subject of a violent fit of sickness. In addition
+to all this, his nephew delayed to call a physician,
+and none visited his sick bed until the
+third day after his return. The doctor who
+came was not Beethoven’s customary physician,
+and totally misunderstood the nature of the
+disease. Other shocks succeeded, and the consequence
+was a violent attack of dropsy, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>
+symptoms of which had first shown themselves
+in Gneixendorf.</p>
+
+<p>His long, painfully long end was now beginning.
+His constitution, powerful as that of
+a giant, “blocked the gates against death” for
+nearly three months. As labor of any kind
+was out of the question, the arrival of Handel’s
+works from London, which came to him
+as a present, supplied him with the distraction
+he wished for, in his own sphere. It
+was not long before attacks of suffocation at
+night distressed him and it became necessary
+to perform the operation paracentesis. When
+he saw the stream of water gush forth, he remarked,
+with that sublimity of humor so peculiarly
+his own, that the surgeon reminded
+him of Moses, who struck the rock with his
+rod; but, in the same humorous vein, he added:
+“Better water from the stomach than from the
+pen.” With this he consoled himself. But
+he grew worse, and a medical consultation
+seemed necessary to his friends. His own
+heart forebode him no good, and he again
+made his will on the 3rd of January, 1827.
+He made his beloved nephew “sole heir to all
+he possessed.” The nephew had gone to join<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>
+his regiment the day before, and this had a
+good and quieting effect on Beethoven. He
+knew that the young man would be best provided
+for there, and testified his gratitude to
+General von Stutterheim, who had received
+him, by dedicating to that officer his quartet
+in C sharp minor—his “greatest” quartet.
+He urged that Dr. Malfatti should be called.
+But he had had a falling out years before with
+him, and the celebrated physician did not now
+want to excite the displeasure of his colleagues.
+Schindler tells us: “Beethoven wept bitterly
+when I told him the doctor’s decision.”</p>
+
+<p>But Malfatti came at last, and, after they had
+exchanged a few words, the old friends lay
+weeping in each other’s arms. The doctor
+prescribed iced punch to “quicken the organs
+of digestion, enervated by too much medicine.”
+The first physician who was called to
+attend him tells us: “The effect of the prescription
+was soon perceptible. He grew cheerful,
+was full of witty sallies at times, and even
+dreamt that he might be able to finish his oratorio
+<i>Saul and David</i>.” From his written
+conversations, we see that a great many of his
+friends had gathered about his bed. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>
+thought of finishing the Bach overture for one
+of Schindler’s concerts, and even began to
+busy himself with the Tenth Symphony once
+more. He had again to experience the feeling
+of pecuniary embarrassment while in this condition—an
+embarrassment now more painful
+than ever—brought about more especially by
+the necessity of procuring a military outfit for
+Karl. Gallitizin had, indeed, expressly promised
+a short time before to send him money,
+but he proved a “princely boaster;” and there
+was no prospect of an income from any other
+source. All his completed works had been
+sold, and the little fortune he had laid aside
+at the time of the Congress of Vienna was
+irrevocably pledged to Karl by his will.</p>
+
+<p>His thoughts now turned to the “magnanimous”
+English, who had already promised
+him a “benefit.” His disease lasted a long time.
+The third operation had been performed. His
+long-continued solitude had alienated men
+from him in Vienna; and, especially after his
+experiences with the <i>Akademie</i> in 1824, he
+had no confidence in the devotion and enthusiasm
+for art of his second home. This
+induced Schindler to write to England: “But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>
+what afflicts him very much is, that no one
+here concerns himself in the least about him;
+and, indeed, this total absence of interest in
+him is very surprising.” After this, we find
+only his most intimate friends at his bedside.
+Among these was Gleichenstein, who happened
+to be in Vienna on a short visit. He writes:
+“Thou must bless my boy as Voltaire blessed
+Franklin’s son.” Hummel, who was traveling
+and giving concerts, also saw him, and at
+the sight of his suffering—he had just undergone
+the fourth operation—burst into tears.
+Beethoven had, at the moment of Hummel’s
+visit, received a little picture as a present, and
+he showed it to him, saying: “See, my dear
+Hummel, the house in which Haydn was
+born—the miserable peasant hut, in which so
+great a man was born!”</p>
+
+<p>He asks his Rhenish publisher, Schott, who
+had purchased his Mass and his Ninth Symphony,
+and who was destined one day to become
+the owner of the <i>Niebelungen</i>, for some
+old wine to strengthen him. Malfatti recommended
+an aromatic bath; and such a bath, it
+seemed to him, would surely save him. But
+it had the very opposite effect, and he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>
+soon taken with violent pains. He wrote to
+London: “I only ask God that I may be preserved
+from want as long as I must here endure
+a living death.” The response was one
+thousand guldens from the Philharmonic Society
+of that city “on account of the concert
+in preparation.” “It was heart-rending to
+see how he folded his hands and almost dissolved
+in tears of joy and gratitude” when he
+received them. This was his last joy, and the
+excitement it caused accelerated his end. His
+wound broke open again and did not close any
+more. He felt this at first a wonderful relief,
+and while he felt so he dictated some letters
+for London, which are among the most beautiful
+he has written. He promised to finish
+the Tenth Symphony for the Society, and had
+other “gigantic” plans, especially as regards
+his Faust music. “That will be something
+worth hearing,” he frequently exclaimed. The
+overflow of his fancy was “indescribable, and
+his imagination showed an elasticity which
+his friends had noticed but seldom when he
+was in health.” At the same time, the most
+beautiful pictures of dramatic poetry floated
+before his mind, and in conversation he always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>
+represented his own works as filled with such
+“poetic ideas.” But his sufferings soon became
+“indescribably great. His dissolution was
+approaching” with giant steps, and even his
+friends could only wish for his end. Schindler
+wrote to London on the 24th March: “He
+feels that his end is near, for yesterday he said
+to Breuning and me: ‘Clap your hands,
+friends; the play is over.’” And further:
+“He advances towards death with really Socratic
+wisdom and unexampled equanimity.”
+He could well be calm of heart and soul. He
+had done his duty as an artist and as a man.
+This same day he wrote a codicil to his will
+in favor of his nephew; and now his friends
+had only one deep concern—to reconcile him
+with heaven. The physician approved, and
+Beethoven calmly but resolutely answered:
+“I will.”</p>
+
+<p>The clergyman came and Beethoven devoutly
+performed his last religious duties.
+Madame Johann van Beethoven heard him
+say, after he had received the sacrament:
+“Reverend sir, I thank you. You have
+brought me consolation.”</p>
+
+<p>He then reminded Schindler of the letter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>
+to London, “May God bless them,” he said.
+The wine he had asked for came. “Too bad!
+too bad! it’s too late!” These were his very
+last words. He fell immediately after into
+such an agony that he was not able to utter a
+single syllable more. On the 24th and 25th
+of March, the people came in crowds to see
+him again. Even the <i>faijaks</i>, Hoslinger and
+Holz, as well as the poet Castelli, were among
+them. “All three of us knelt before his bed,”
+said Holz, subsequently, to Frau Linzbaur,
+who, in relating the incident, added that when
+Holz told it “his voice forsook him, and he
+covered his face and wept. ‘He blessed us,’
+he said, with an effort; ‘we kissed his hand,
+but never saw him again.’” This was the last
+act of his life.</p>
+
+<p>“On the 26th, the little pyramidal clock,
+which he had received as a present from
+Princess Christiane Lichnowsky, stopped, as
+it still does when a storm is approaching.
+Schindler and Breuning had gone to the
+churchyard, to select a grave for him. A
+storm of loud thunder and hail came raging
+on about five o’clock. No one but Frau van
+Beethoven and the young composer, Anselm<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>
+Huettenbrenner, who had hurried hither from
+Graz to look upon his revered master once
+more, were present in the room of the dying
+man. A stroke of lightning illuminated it
+with a lurid flash. The moribund opened his
+eyes, raised his right hand, and looked up with
+a fixed gaze for several seconds: the soul of
+the hero would not out. But when his uplifted
+hand fell back on the bed, his eyes half
+closed. Not another breath! Not another
+heart-beat! It was I that closed the half-open
+eyes of the sleeper.” So says Huettenbrenner,
+an eye-witness of our artist’s last moment.
+This was the 28th of March, 1827.</p>
+
+<p>“No mourning wife, no son, no daughter,
+wept at his grave, but a world wept at it.”
+These are the words of the orator of the day
+on the occasion of the unveiling of the first
+monument to Beethoven in 1845, in Bonn.
+But his funeral on that beautiful day in spring
+was a very brilliant one. A sea of twenty
+thousand human beings surged over the street
+where now the votive church stands; for in
+the <i>Schwarzspanierhaus</i> behind it, Beethoven
+had lived during the last years of his life.
+The leading <i>capellmeisters</i> of the city carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>
+the pall, and writers and musicians the torches.</p>
+
+<p>“The news of his death had violently shaken
+the people out of their indifference,” says Dr.
+G. von Breuning. And, indeed, it was, as a
+poor old huxtress exclaimed when she saw the
+funeral procession, “the general of musicians”
+whom men were carrying to the grave! The
+poet, Grillparzer, delivered the funeral oration.
+He took for his text the words: “He was an
+artist, and he was what he was only through
+his art.” Our very being and our sublimest
+feelings are touched when we hear the name
+of</p>
+
+<p class="center">LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph1">FOOTNOTE:</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a></p>
+
+<p>To part from thee, my dear, this day,<br>
+And know that I can’t with thee stay,<br>
+Is more than my sad heart can bear.</p>
+
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="ph3">TALES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES,</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">COMPRISING</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<p><span class="large"><b>MEMORIES;</b></span> A STORY OF GERMAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> MAX MÜLLER.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>GRAZIELLA;</b></span> A STORY OF ITALIAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> A. DE LAMARTINE.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>MARIE;</b></span> A STORY OF RUSSIAN LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> ALEX. PUSHKIN.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+<p><span class="large"><b>MADELEINE;</b></span> A STORY OF FRENCH LOVE.<br>
+
+<span class="floatright"><span class="smcap">By</span> JULES SANDEAU.</span></p>
+<p>&#160;</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>In neat box, per set</i>,       <span class="gap2">      <i>Price, $3.00.</i></span><br>
+<i>Sold separately, per volume</i>,  <span class="gap">    <i>Price, $1.25.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>Of “Memories” the London <i>Academy</i> says: “It is a prose poem.
+* * * It is seldom that a powerful intellect produces any
+work, however small, that does not bear some marks of its special bent,
+and the traces of research and philosophy In this little story are apparent,
+while its beauty and pathos show us a fresh phase of a many-sided
+mind, to which we already owe large debts of gratitude.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Graziella” the Chicago <i>Tribune</i> says: “It glows with love of the
+beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a
+perfect story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have rhythm
+and flow, the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is uniform
+with ‘Memories,’ and it should stand side by side with that on the
+shelves of every lover of pure, strong thoughts, put in pure, strong
+words. ‘Graziella’ is a book to be loved.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Marie” the Cincinnati <i>Gazette</i> says: “This is a Russian love tale,
+written by a Russian poet. It is one of the purest, sweetest little narratives
+that we have read for a long time. It is a little classic, and a Russian
+classic, too. That is one of its charms, that it is so distinctively Russian.
+We catch the very breezes of the Steppes, and meet, face to face, the high-souled,
+simple-minded Russian.”</p>
+
+<p>Of “Madeleine” the New York <i>Evening Telegram</i> says: “More than
+thirty years ago it received the honor of a prize from the French
+Academy and has since almost become a French classic. It abounds
+both in pathos and wit. Above all, it is a pure story, dealing with love
+of the most exalted kind. It is, indeed, a wonder that a tale so fresh, so
+sweet, so pure as this has not sooner been introduced to the English-speaking
+public.”</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>It ought to be in the hands of every scholar and of every schoolboy.</i>”—<i>Saturday
+Review, London.</i></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">Tales of Ancient Greece.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By the REV. SIR G. W. COX, Bart., M.A.</span>,<br>
+Trinity College, Oxford.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>12mo., extra cloth, black and gilt</i>, <span class="gap">      <i>Price, $1.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of
+manner which will recommend it to all.”—<i>The Examiner, London.</i></p>
+
+<p>“It is only when we take up such a book as this, that we realize how
+rich in interest is the mythology of Greece.”—<i>Inquirer, Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Admirable in style, and level with a child’s comprehension. These
+versions might well find a place in every family.”—<i>The Nation, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely
+peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way.”—<i>Standard, Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p>“In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among
+those English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable
+rank in the investigation of Greek history.”—<i>Edinburgh Review.</i></p>
+
+<p>“It is doubtful if these tales, antedating history in their origin, and yet
+fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for the first time,
+were ever before presented in so chaste and popular form.”—<i>Golden Rule,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told
+makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales, or the
+‘Arabian Nights.’ * * * We do not know of a Christmas book which
+promises more lasting pleasures.”—<i>Publishers’ Weekly.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its contents
+are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated intelligence. * * *
+The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome addition to a
+department of literature that is thus far quite too scantily furnished.”—<i>Tribune,
+Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="ph3">SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE,</p>
+
+<p class="ph1">FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> MISS E. S. KIRKLAND.<br>
+
+AUTHOR OF “SIX LITTLE COOKS,” “DORA’S HOUSEKEEPING,” ETC.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>12 mo., extra cloth, black and gilt</i>, <span class="gap">     <i>Price $1.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times
+to the foundation of the existing Republic.”—<i>Cincinnati Gazette.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little history may
+be commended as the best of its kind that has yet appeared.”—<i>Bulletin,
+Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium
+of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history.”—<i>Christian
+Union, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to conscientiously
+give it our heartiest commendation. We know no elementary
+history of France that can at all be compared with it.”—<i>Living Church.</i></p>
+
+<p>“A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and nation—one
+that will seize and hold the attention of all bright boys and girls
+who have a chance to read it.”—<i>Sunday Afternoon, Springfield</i>, (<i>Mass.</i>)</p>
+
+<p>“We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple
+and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion. The
+book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious study.”—<i>Courant,
+Hartford, Ct.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Miss Kirkland has composed her ‘Short History of France’ in the
+way in which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she
+has aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the
+reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of
+events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the
+characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods.”—<i>The
+Nation, N. Y.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>Unequalled by anything of the kind with which we are acquainted.</i>”—<i>Christian
+Advocate, N. Y.</i></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">CUMNOCK’S CHOICE READINGS.</p>
+
+<p class="center">FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENT. ARRANGED FOR THE<br>
+EXERCISES OF THE SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AND PUBLIC READER,<br>
+WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE. EDITED BY ROBERT<br>
+MC’LAIN CUMNOCK, A. M., PROFESSOR OF<br>
+RHETORIC AND ELOCUTION, NORTHWESTERN<br>
+UNIVERSITY.</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Large 12mo., cloth</i>,  <span class="gap">    <i>Price, $1.75.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“It ought to become a special favorite among school and college
+students and public readers.”—<i>Evening Post, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Taking into account the admirable type, the excellent taste, the
+brevity of the rhetorical counsels, the unsurpassed variety, we prefer
+Prof. Cumnock’s book to every manual of the kind.”—<i>Christian Register,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Among the multitude of books issued for the same purpose during
+the past ten years, we know of none so complete in all respects and so
+well fitted to the needs of the elocutionist as the volume before us.”—<i>Transcript,
+Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p>“No choicer casket of prose and poetry has been given to us by any
+other author. These are the culled flowers from the bouquet of literature.
+They are of every nature known to the language, and each is of
+the best of its kind.”—<i>The Post, San Francisco.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Nearly 200 selections from the best prose and poetical literature of
+the English language are here assembled for the uses of the student of
+elocution. * * * The collection is valuable as a treasury of
+literary gems, apart from its worth as a manual of declamation.”—<i>Tribune,
+Chicago.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The volume consists in great measure of fresh specimens that
+have recently found their way into current literature, and present the
+charm of novelty with the merit of good writing. The ancient stream is
+thus enriched with supplies from new fountains, and living productions
+take the place of the veteran pieces which have grown old in the course
+of protracted service. * * * They are illustrations of the best
+literature of the day.”—<i>Tribune, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>Dr. Gibson is a champion of more than ordinary skill.</i>”—Gazette,
+Cincinnati.</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">The Foundations</span></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">OF</p>
+
+<p class="ph3"><span class="smcap">Christianity</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Rev.</span> J. MONRO GIBSON, D. D.,<br>
+Author of “<span class="smcap">Ages Before Moses</span>.”</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Square 16 mo.</i>, <span class="gap">     <i>Price, $1.00.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+
+<p>“Admirable because of its brevity and directness, and because it answers,
+without any theological circumlocution, the objections which
+modern infidelity puts forth so pertinaciously.”—<i>Inquirer, Philadelphia.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The book, both in manner and matter, will be found to be just the
+thing which many thoughtful yet perplexed persons need to direct their
+inquiries and resolve their doubts. The style is fresh, vigorous and incisive.”—<i>Canada
+Presbyterian, Toronto.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The book will be read with genuine interest by any one who thinks
+at all on these noble themes, and we are sure that its effect will be
+wholesome and powerful in removing difficulties, strengthening defenses,
+and establishing the spirit upon sure foundations.”—<i>Observer,
+New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>“Dr. Gibson’s book, though so condensed, is admirable in method, and
+vigorous and fresh in style, throughout. As a brief and popular presentation
+of the fundamental truths, such as are apt to expand beyond ordinary
+ability to read in most hands, nothing more valuable has recently
+emanated from the press.”—<i>Rev. Dr. H. M. Field, in the Evangelist.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The treatment is masterly. The author grapples the points essential
+to the argument with courage and vigor, and in a style notable for its
+trenchant force, sets them forth in convincing light. While others meet
+the infidel argument more on the skirmish line, Christian people will
+be glad to see one like Dr. Gibson bearing down upon the very centre of
+the enemy’s position.”—<i>Rev. Dr. J. A. Smith, in the Standard.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center">“<i>An exceedingly interesting narrative of an extraordinary life.</i>”—The
+Standard.</p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="ph3">LIFE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD:</p>
+
+<p class="ph1"><span class="smcap">His Patriotism and his Treason</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By Hon.</span> I. N. ARNOLD,<br>
+AUTHOR OF “LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.”</p>
+
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p class="center"><i>Crown, 8vo., with Portrait</i>,<span class="gap">      <i>Price, $2.50.</i></span></p>
+<hr class="tiny">
+<p>This Life of Arnold is full of new facts, now first given to the public.
+Manuscripts from the family of Arnold, in England and in Canada, and
+the Shippen manuscripts, have enabled the author to make new contributions
+to Revolutionary history of great interest. The unpublished
+manuscripts of General Schuyler, to which the author has had access,
+has thrown new light upon the expedition to Canada and the campaign
+against Burgoyne. The author does not, to any extent, excuse Arnold’s
+treason, but aims to do full justice to him as a soldier and patriot. For
+Arnold, the traitor, he has no plea but “guilty;” for Arnold, the soldier
+and patriot, he asks a hearing and justice.</p>
+
+<p>“The biographer discriminates fairly between Arnold’s patriotism and
+baseness; and while exhibiting the former and the splendid services by
+which it was illustrated, with generous earnestness, does not in any degree
+extenuate the turpitude of the other.”—<i>Harper’s Monthly.</i></p>
+
+<p>“The public is the gainer (by this book), as additional light is thrown
+on the prominent actors and events of history. * * * Bancroft erroneously
+asserts that Arnold was not present at the first battle of Saratoga.
+Upon this point the author has justice and right on his side, and to
+Arnold, rather than to Gates, the success of this decisive campaign seems
+greatly attributable.”—<i>New England Historical and Genealogical Register.</i></p>
+
+<p>“After a careful perusal of the work, it seems to us that Mr. Arnold has
+accomplished his task wonderfully well. * * * It is rarely that one
+meets in the pages of biographical literature a nobler woman than was
+the devoted wife of Benedict Arnold; she mourned his fallen greatness,
+but even in his ignominity was faithful to the vows by which she had
+sworn to love and care for him until death.”—<i>Traveller, Boston.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Sold by booksellers, or mailed, postpaid, on receipt of price, by</i></p>
+
+<p class="ph1">JANSEN, McCLURG &amp; CO., Publishers, Chicago, Ill.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote">
+<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p>
+
+<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p>
+
+<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN ***</div>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 08:19:55 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-25 08:19:55 -0800
commit	01189da5d843b478baa1f7340a42f2444bcd3464 (patch)
tree	6f465a5dfbd8bae2b8a69bd335c520a00eb15957
parent	59ba4dd9fdd5445a1c5f9ffb98688488a20ffa8e (diff)