diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/69693-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/69693-0.txt | 4408 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 4408 deletions
diff --git a/old/69693-0.txt b/old/69693-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 958bf2a..0000000 --- a/old/69693-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4408 +0,0 @@ -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. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF BEETHOVEN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |