Chapter 14

Many thanks for the dish you sent me yesterday, which will suffice for to-day also. I am allowed to have game; and the doctor said that fieldfares were very wholesome for me. I only tell you this for information, as I do not want them to-day. Forgive this stupid note, but I am exhausted from a sleepless night. I embrace you, and am, with much esteem, your attached friend.

[Footnote 1: In a tremulous hand,--"March 14, 1827."]

473.

TO HERR MOSCHELES.

Vienna, March 14, 1827.

MY DEAR MOSCHELES,--

I recently heard, through Herr Lewisey,[1] that in a letter to him of the 10th February, you had made inquiries as to the state of my health, about which such various rumors have been circulated. Although I cannot possibly doubt that you have by this time received my letter of February 22d, which explains all you wish to know, still I cannot resist thanking you for your sympathy with my sad condition, and again imploring you to attend to the request contained in my first letter. I feel already certain that, in conjunction with Sir Smart and other friends, you are sure to succeed in obtaining a favorable result for me from the Philharmonic Society. I wrote again to Sir Smart also on the subject.

I was operated on for the fourth time on the 27th of February, and now symptoms evidently exist which show that I must expect a fifth operation. What is to be done? What is to become of me if this lasts much longer? Mine has indeed been a hard doom; but I resign myself to the decrees of fate, and only constantly pray to God that His holy will may ordain that while thus condemned to suffer death in life, I may be shielded from want. The Almighty will give me strength to endure my lot, however severe and terrible, with resignation to His will.

So once more, dear Moscheles, I commend my cause to you, and shall anxiously await your answer, with highest esteem. Hummel is here, and has several times come to see me.

Your friend,

BEETHOVEN.

[Footnote 1: Schindler mentions, on Beethoven's authority, that this gentleman translated Beethoven's letters to Smart into English, which his nephew had previously done.]

474.[1]

TO SCHINDLER.--

March 17, 1827.

WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!--

Both the learned gentlemen are defeated, and I shall be saved solely by Malfatti's skill! You must come to me for a few minutes without fail this forenoon.

Yours,

BEETHOVEN.

[Footnote 1: Schindler dates this note March 17, 1827, and says that these are the last lines Beethoven ever wrote. They certainly were the last that he wrote to Schindler. On the back of the note, in another writing (probably Schindler's), the receipt is given in pencil for the bath with hay steeped in it, ordered by Malfatti, which the poor invalid thought had saved his life. The "learned gentlemen" are Dr. Wawruch and the surgeon Seibert, who had made the punctures.]

475.

TO MOSCHELES.

Vienna, March 18, 1827.

No words can express my feelings on reading your letter of the 1st of March. The noble liberality of the Philharmonic Society, which almost anticipated my request, has touched me to my inmost soul.[1] I beg you, therefore, dear Moscheles, to be my organ in conveying to the Society my heartfelt thanks for their generous sympathy and aid.

[Say[2] to these worthy men, that if God restores me to health, I shall endeavor to prove the reality of my gratitude by my actions. I therefore leave it to the Society to choose what I am to write for them--a symphony (the 10th) lies fully sketched in my desk, and likewise a new overture and some other things. With regard to the concert the Philharmonic had resolved to give in my behalf, I would entreat them not to abandon their intention. In short, I will strive to fulfil every wish of the Society, and never shall I have begun any work with so much zeal as on this occasion. May Heaven only soon grant me the restoration of my health, and then I will show the noble-hearted English how highly I value their sympathy with my sad fate.] I was compelled at once to draw for the whole sum of 1000 gulden, being on the eve of borrowing money.

Your generous conduct can never be forgotten by me, and I hope shortly to convey my thanks to Sir Smart in particular, and to Herr Stumpff. I beg you will deliver the metronomed 9th Symphony to the Society. I enclose the proper markings.

Your friend, with high esteem,

BEETHOVEN.

[Footnote 1: A hundred pounds had been sent at once.]

[Footnote 2: In the original the words placed within brackets are dictated by Beethoven himself, and were indeed the last he ever dictated--but they are crossed out.]

476.

CODICIL.[1]

Vienna, March 23, 1827.

I appoint my nephew Carl my sole heir. The capital of my bequest, however, to devolve on his natural or testamentary heirs.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.[2]

[Footnote 1: See No. 463. Schindler relates:--"This testament contained no restrictions or precautionary measures with regard to his heir-at-law, who, after the legal forms connected with the inheritance were terminated, was entitled to take immediate possession of the whole. The guardian and curator, however, knowing the unexampled levity of the heir, had a valid pretext for raising objections to these testamentary depositions. They therefore suggested to the _maestro_, to alter his intentions in so far as to place his property in trust; his nephew to draw the revenue, and at his death the capital to pass to his direct heirs. Beethoven, however, considered such restraints as too severe on the nephew whom he still so dearly loved in his heart [since December of the previous year the young man had been a cadet in a royal regiment at Iglau, in Moravia], so he remonstrated against this advice; indeed he reproached Hofrath Breuning as the person who had suggested such harsh measures. A note, still extant, written by Breuning to Beethoven, shows the state of matters, in which he still maintains, though in moderate language, the absolute necessity of the above precautions. This mode of argument seemed to make an impression on the _maestro_, who at last promised to yield his own wishes. By his desire, Breuning laid the codicil of three lines before him, and Beethoven at once proceeded to copy it, which was no easy matter for him. When it was finished he exclaimed, 'There! now I write no more!' He was not a little surprised to see on the paper the words 'heirs of his body' changed into 'natural heirs.' Breuning represented to him the disputes to which this destination might give rise. Beethoven replied that the one term was as good as the other, and that it should remain just as it was. _This was his last contradiction._"]

[Footnote 2: Next day, at noon, he lost consciousness, and a frightful death-struggle began, which continued till the evening of March 26, 1827, when, during a violent spring storm of thunder and lightning, the sublime _maestro_ paid his last tribute to that humanity for which he had made so many sacrifices in this world, to enter into life everlasting, which, from his life and actions, few could look forward to more hopefully.]

INDEX.

Academies, concerts given by Beethoven, so called. The grand concerts of the year 1824.

Address and appeal to London artists, from Beethoven.

Adlersburg, Dr. von, Court advocate and barrister at Vienna, "a most inconsiderate character," for some time Beethoven's lawyer.

Aesthetical observations on particular subjects.

Albrechtsberger, the popular theorist and composer, Kapellmeister at St. Stephen's in Vienna, for some time, about the year 1795, Beethoven's instructor in musical composition.

Amenda of Courland, afterwards rector in Talsen.

"A.M.Z." _See_ Leipzig "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung."

André, composer and music publisher in Offenbach on the Maine.

Archduke Carl.

Arnim, Frau von. _See_ Brentano, Bettina.

Artaria, print and music publisher in Vienna.

Attorney, power of.

Augarten, the well-known park near Vienna, in which morning concerts were frequently given.

Augsburg.

Austria, Beethoven's sentiments respecting that country, his second father-land.

Bach, Dr. Johann Baptist, Court advocate and barrister, from the year 1816 Beethoven's lawyer at Vienna.

Bach, Johann Sebastian.

Baden, near Vienna, a favorite watering-place, to which Beethoven often resorted.

Bauer, chief secretary to the Austrian Embassy in London.

Baumeister, private secretary to the Archduke Rudolph.

Beethoven's brother Carl, born at Bonn in 1774, instructed in music by Beethoven; afterwards came to Vienna, where he occupied the appointment of cashier in the Government Revenue (died Nov. 15, 1815).

His brother Johann, born in 1776, an apothecary, first in Linz, afterwards in Vienna, and at a later period proprietor of Gneixendorf, an estate near Krems, on the Danube; named by Beethoven, "Braineater," "Pseudo-brother," "Asinanios," &c.

His brother Ludwig Maria.

His father, Johann, son of Ludwig van Beethoven, Kapellmeister to the Elector of Cologne, Court tenor singer at the Electoral Chapel at Bonn, a man possessing no considerable mental endowments, but an excellent musician, and Beethoven's first instructor in music. Unhappily, he was so addicted to habits of intemperance, that he greatly impoverished his family, the care of which, owing to the father's recklessness, devolved entirely upon his son Ludwig (died Dec. 1792).

His grandfather, Ludwig van Beethoven, Kapellmeister to the Elector of Cologne (died 1774).

His mother, Maria Magdalena Kewerich, the wife, first of Leym of Ehrenbreitstein, cook to the Elector of Treves, and afterwards of Johann van Beethoven, in Bonn, Court tenor singer to the Elector of Cologne. She gave birth to her illustrious son Ludwig on Dec. 17, 1770, and died July 17, 1787.

His nephew, Carl, son of his brother Carl, Beethoven's ward from the year 1815. Entered the Blöchlinger Institute, at Vienna, June 22, 1819. Letters to him from Beethoven.

His sister-in-law, Johanna, wife of his brother Carl and mother of his nephew, named by Beethoven "The Queen of the Night."

Beethoven's _Works. In General._

I. _For pianoforte only._ Sonatas of the year 1783. Op. 22. Op. 31. Op. 90. Op. 106. Op. 109. Op. 111. _Variations_. _Bagatelles_. "Allegri di Bravoura."

II. _For pianoforte with obbligato instruments._ For pianoforte and violin:--Sonatas. Sonatas with violoncello. Twelve Variations in F on the Theme from "Figaro," "Se vuol ballare." Rondo. Variations with violoncello and violin. for hautboys and horn. Trios. Concertos. Fantasia with chorus.

III. _Quartets._

IV. _Instrumental pieces._ Septet. Quintets. Violin Romance.

V. _Orchestral music._ Symphonies. The Ninth. Minuet and Interlude. Music for the ballet of "Prometheus." "Egmont." "King Stephen." "The Ruins of Athens." "Wellington's Victory at Vittoria." March to "Tarpeia." Gratulation Minuet. Marches. Overtures.

VI. _Vocal music._ "Adelaide." "Ah! Perfido." "Heart, my Heart," and "Knowest Thou the Land?" "To Hope." Aria for bass voice with chorus. Terzet on Count Lichnowsky. Canon for Spohr. "The Glorious Moment." On Mdlle. Milder-Hauptmann. Scotch songs. Canon for Schlesinger; for the Archduke Rudolph; on Tobias Haslinger. Various songs; two grand songs with chorus from Goethe and Matthisson. Choruses. "Empitremate." Elegy. "Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt." Opferlied. Canons; for Rellstab; for Braunhofer; for Kuhlau; for Schlesinger. Terzet.

VII. _Operas._ Grillparzer's "Melusina." "Fidelio" in Dresden.

VIII. _Church music and Oratorios._ "Missa solennis."

Benedict, Julius, in London, a composer, the pupil of C.M. von Weber.

Berlin.

Bernard, Carl, an author, editor of the "Wiener Zeitschrift."

Bihler, J.N., a special admirer of Beethoven, one of the subscribers to, and the bearer of, the address presented to Beethoven in the year 1824, in which the master was requested again to present himself and his works to the Viennese public.

Birchall, music publisher in London.

"Birne, zur goldnen," an eating-house in the Landstrasse, Vienna.

Blöchlinger, proprietor of an educational institution at Vienna.

Bocklet, Carl Maria, of Prague, pianist in Vienna.

Böhm, Joseph, a distinguished concerto violinist, professor at the Vienna Conservatory, and the teacher of Joachim.

Bolderini.

Bonn, residence of the Elector of Cologne, and Beethoven's birthplace, which he left in the year 1792, never again to visit.

Braunhofer, Dr., for some time Beethoven's surgeon at Vienna.

Breitkopf & Härtel, the well-known book and music publishers in Leipzig.

Brentano, Bettina, became Frau von Arnim in 1811.

Brentano, Clemens, the poet.

Brentano, F.A., merchant at Frankfort, an admirer of Beethoven's music. _See also_ Tonie.

Breuning, Christoph von.

Breuning, Dr. Gerhard von, Court physician at Vienna, son of Stephan von Breuning.

Breuning, Eleonore von, daughter of Councillor von Breuning, in Bonn, the friend and pupil of Beethoven; in 1802 became the wife of Dr. Wegeler, afterwards consulting physician at Coblenz.

Breuning, Frau von, widow of Councillor von Breuning, into whose house Beethoven was received as one of the family, and where he received his first musical impressions.

Breuning, Lenz (Lorenz), youngest son of the "Frau Hofrath."

Breuning, Stephan von, of Bonn; came to Vienna in the spring of 1800, where he became councillor, and died in 1827.

Browne, Count, of Vienna, an admirer of Beethoven's music.

Brühl, the, a village and favorite pleasure resort near Vienna.

Brunswick, Count Franz von, of Pesth, one of Beethoven's greatest admirers and friends in Vienna.

Bonaparte, Ludwig, King of Holland.

"Cäcilia, a Journal for the Musical World," &c.

Carl, Archduke. _See_ Archduke Carl.

Carlsbad.

Cassel.

Castlereagh, the well-known English minister.

Cherubini. Visited Vienna in 1805.

Clement, Franz, born 1784, died 1842, orchestral director at the "Theater an der Wien."

Clementi.

Collin, the famous Austrian poet.

Cornega, a singer in Vienna commended to Beethoven by Schindler.

Court Theatre, Beethoven's letter to the directors of the.

Cramer, John, the celebrated London pianist, also a music publisher.

Czerny, Carl, in Vienna, the well known writer of pianoforte studies.

Czerny, Joseph, in Vienna.

Deafness of Beethoven.

De la Motte-Fouqué, the poet of "Undine," which he had arranged as an Opera libretto for T.A. Hoffmann.

Del Rio, Giannatasio, proprietor of an academy at Vienna, under whose care Beethoven placed his nephew Carl from the year 1816 to 1818.

Diabelli, Anton, composer and music publisher in Vienna.

Döbling, Ober- and Unter-Döbling, near Vienna, Beethoven's occasional summer residence.

Dresden.

Drossdick, Baroness Thérèse, to whom Beethoven was greatly attached.

Duport, director of the Kärnthnerthor Theatre in the year 1823.

Eisenstadt, in Hungary, the residence of Prince Esterhazy, where Beethoven remained on a visit in the years 1794 and 1808.

English language, Beethoven's correspondence in the.

Erdödy Countess, in Vienna, one of Beethoven's best friends.

Ertmann, Baroness Dorothea (_née_ Graumann), a friend of Beethoven, and one of the most accomplished pianists in Vienna; she especially excelled in the performance of Beethoven's compositions.

Esterhazy, Prince Paul, son of the protector of Haydn, and himself, at a later period, an ardent admirer of that master.

France.

Frank, Dr.

Frank, Frau, in Vienna.

"Frau Schnaps," Beethoven's housekeeper during the latter years of his life; called also "The Fast-sailing Frigate" and "The Old Goose."

French language, Beethoven's correspondence in the.

Fries, Count, in Vienna, an admirer of Beethoven's works.

Fux, the well-known old theorist and composer, in Vienna, author of the "Gradus ad Parnassum."

Gallizin, Prince Nikolaus Boris, at St. Petersburg, a zealous friend of art, from whom Beethoven received an order for his last quartet.

Gebauer, Franz Xaver, founder of the "Concerts Spirituels" at Vienna.

Gerardi, Mdlle.

Girowetz, Court musical director at the "Burgtheater."

Giuliani, a celebrated guitar player at Vienna.

Gläser, Beethoven's copyist from the year 1823.

Gleichenstein, Baron, of Rothweil, near Freiburg in Breisgau, a friend of Beethoven at Vienna. He left Vienna about the year 1815, and only revisited that city once afterwards, in 1824.

Gneixendorf, the estate of Beethoven's brother Johann, near Krems, on the Danube, which Beethoven visited, accompanied by his nephew, in the autumn of 1826.

Goethe.

Gratz, in Styria.

Grillparzer.

Guicciardi, Countess Giulietta, Beethoven's "immortal beloved."

Hammer-Purgstall, the distinguished Orientalist in Vienna.

Handel.

Haslinger, Tobias, music publisher at Vienna.

Hauschka, Vincenz, Government auditor, a friend of Beethoven.

Heiligenstadt, near Vienna, a favorite summer residence of Beethoven, where, among other works, the "Pastoral Symphony" was written by him.

Hetzendorf, a favorite suburban residence near Vienna.

Hoffmann, Th. Amadeus.

Hofmeister, Kapellmeister and music publisher, first in Vienna, and afterwards in company with Kühnel in Leipzig (now Peters's Bureau de Musique). _See also_ Peters.

Holz, Carl, Government official at Vienna, an accomplished violinist, born in 1798; became a member of the Schuppanzigh Quartets in 1824, and afterwards director of the Concerts Spirituels in that capital; a Viennese of somewhat dissolute habits, by whom even the grave master himself was at times unfavorably influenced.

Homer, especially the Odyssey, a favorite study of Beethoven.

Hönigstein, a banker in Vienna.

Hummel, Johann Nepomuk, the celebrated composer and pianist, a pupil of Mozart, and for some time Beethoven's rival in love matters, having married the sister of the singer Röckel, to whom Beethoven also was much attached (_see also_ Schindler's "Biography," i. 189).

Hungary, Beethoven there.

Imperial Court at Vienna.

Imperial High Court of Appeal, letter from Beethoven to the.

Jenger, Chancery officer in the Imperial War Office at Vienna, a passionate lover of music.

Kalkbrenner.

Kandeler, testimonial from Beethoven in favor of.

Kanne, F.A., at Vienna, highly appreciated in his day as a poet, composer, and critic, an intimate friend of Beethoven, and occasionally his guest (_see also_ Schindler's "Biography," i. 228).

Kauka, Dr., Beethoven's advocate in Prague.

Kiesewetter, Councillor von, in Vienna, the popular writer on the science of music, one of the subscribers to the great address presented to Beethoven in February, 1824.

Kinsky, Prince Ferdinand, of Bohemia, one of Beethoven's most devoted patrons in Vienna.

Kinsky, Princess.

Kirnberger, of Berlin, the well-known theorist.

Koch, Barbara, of Bonn, daughter of the landlord of the "Zehrgaden," the friend of Eleonore von Breuning, an amiable and intelligent lady, at whose house the leading persons of the town were accustomed to assemble; she afterwards became governess to the children of Count Belderbusch, whom she married in 1802.

Könneritz, Von, principal director of the Court band and Opera in Dresden.

Kraft, Anton, a celebrated violoncello-player in Vienna.

Kuhlau, Friedrich, the distinguished flute-player, a great admirer of Beethoven's music.

Kühnel, in Leipzig. _See_ Hofmeister.

Laibach, the Philharmonic Society of.

Landrecht, Beethoven's address to the honorable members of the.

Leidesdorf, M.J., composer and music publisher in Vienna, a subscriber to the great address presented to Beethoven in 1824.

Leipzig "Allgemeine Zeitung," established in 1798; its remarks at first unfavorable towards Beethoven.

Lichnowsky, Count Moritz, brother of Prince Carl Lichnowsky, and, like him, the friend and patron of Beethoven. Schindler, in his "Biography," i. 241, n., relates as follows:--"The acute perception of the Count led him, on a nearer acquaintance with the work, to surmise that it had been written with some special intentions. On being questioned on this matter, the author replied that he had intended to set the Count's love-story to music, and that if he needed titles for it, he might write over the first piece, 'Fight between Head and Heart,' and over the second, 'Conversation with the Loved One.' After the death of his first wife, the Count had fallen deeply in love with a distinguished opera singer, but his friends protested against such an alliance. After a contest of many years' duration, however, he at last succeeded, in 1816, in removing all hindrances to their union."

Lichnowsky, Prince Carl, a friend and pupil of Mozart, and afterwards a most zealous patron of Beethoven in Vienna (died April 15, 1814).

Liechtenstein, Princess, in Vienna, Beethoven's patroness.

Linke, born 1783, a distinguished violoncello player, member of the Rasumowsky Quartets.

Lobkowitz, Prince, one of Beethoven's most zealous patrons in Vienna.

London, England, and the English.

Luther.

Maelzel, mechanician to the Imperial Court of Vienna, the well-known inventor of the metronome.

Malchus, a youthful friend of Beethoven in Bonn, in later years Minister of Finance of the kingdom of Westphalia, and afterwards of that of Wirtemberg (died at Stuttgart in 1840).

Malfatti, Dr., a celebrated surgeon in Vienna; Beethoven under his treatment in 1814.

Marconi, contralto singer in Vienna.

Marx, A.B., music director and professor at the University of Berlin; edited, when in his twentieth year, the "Berliner Musikzeitung," a journal whose publication, unfortunately, lasted but a few years only. Next to T.A. Hofmann, he was the first who fully and thoroughly appreciated Beethoven's music in all its depth and grandeur, and who manfully and intelligently defended the lofty genius of the master against the base attacks to which it was at times exposed; he has remained until the present day the most efficient representative of the progress of musical art.

Matthisson, the poet.

Maximilian Franz, youngest brother of the Emperor Joseph II., Elector of Cologne from the year 1785, and one of the noblest and most zealous patrons of the young Beethoven, on whom, in 1785, he conferred the appointment of Court organist, and in 1787, with a view to the further cultivation of his talents, sent him to Vienna, assisting him in every way until the year 1794, at which period his country fell entirely under the dominion of France (died in 1801).

Maximilian, Friedrich, Elector of Cologne until the year 1784; the first noble patron of Beethoven, whom he placed under the instruction of the Court organist Von der Eeden, and afterwards, on the death of that musician, under Neefe; as an acknowledgment for which kindness, and in proof of the success which had attended his studies, the young composer, then only eleven years of age, dedicated his first sonatas to his benefactor.

Mayseder, the celebrated violinist (died at Vienna in 1863).

Meyer, Friedrich Sebastian, a singer (born 1773, died 1835), the husband of Mozart's eldest sister-in-law, who frequently, even in Beethoven's presence, made some boastful remark in praise of his deceased relative; such as "My brother-in-law would not have written that!"

Metronome, an instrument for measuring tune in music, invented about the year 1815 by Maelzel, of Vienna, and often employed and spoken of by Beethoven.

Milder-Hauptmann, Mdlle., the celebrated singer, first in Vienna and afterwards in Berlin.

Mödling, a village near Vienna, and Beethoven's favorite summer residence.

Mollo, music publisher in Vienna, afterwards the firm of Steiner & Co., and at a later period that of Haslinger.

Mölk, the celebrated abbey on the Danube.

Mölker Bastei, the, at Vienna, on several occasions Beethoven's residence in the house of Baron von Pasqualati (_see also_ Schindler's "Biography," i. 187).

Moscheles.