Part 15
I give you my word of honor that I have signed and delivered the receipt to the home Fries and Co. some day last August, who as they say have transmitted it to Messrs. Coutts and Co. where you'll have the goodness to apply. Some error might have taken place that instead of Messrs. C. sending it to you they have been directed to keep it till fetched. Excuse this irregularity, but it is not my fault, nor had I ever the idea of withholding it from the circumstance of the £5 not being included. Should the receipt not come forth as Messrs. C., I am ready to sign any other, and you shall have it directly with return of post.
If you find Variations--in my style--too dear at £30, I will abate for the sake of your friendship one third--and you have the offer of such Variations as fixed in our former lettres for £20 each Air.
Please to publish the Symphony in A immediately--as well as the Sonata--and the Trio--they being ready here. The Grand Opera Fidelio is my work. The arrangement for the Pianoforte has been published here under my care, but the score of the Opera itself is not yet published. I have given a copy of the score to Mr. Neate under the seal of friendship and whom I shall direct to treat for my account in case an offer should present.
I anxiously hope your health is improving, give me leave to subscrive myself
Dear Sir
Your very obedient Serv.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
201.
TO ZMESKALL.
Dec. 16, 1816.
With this, dear Zmeskall, you will receive my friendly dedication [a stringed quartet, Op. 95], which may, I hope, serve as a pleasant memorial of our long-enduring friendship here; pray accept it as a proof of my esteem, and not merely as the extreme end of a thread long since spun out (for you are one of my earliest friends in Vienna).
Farewell! Beware of mouldering fortresses! for an attack on them will be more trying than on those in a better state of preservation! As ever,
Your friend,
BEETHOVEN.
N.B. When you have a moment's leisure, let me know the probable cost of a livery, without linen, but including hat and boots. Strange changes have come to pass in my house. The man is off to the devil, I am thankful to say, whereas his wife seems the more resolved to take root here.
202.
TO FRAU VON STREICHER--NÉE STEIN.
Dec. 28, 1816.
N---- ought to have given you the New Year's tickets yesterday, but it seems she did not do so. The day before I was occupied with Maelzel, whose business was pressing, as he leaves this so soon; otherwise you may be sure that I would have hurried up again to see you. Your dear kind daughter was with me yesterday, but I scarcely ever remember being so ill; my _precious servants_ were occupied from seven o'clock till ten at night in trying to heat the stove. The bitter cold, particularly in my room, caused me a chill, and the whole of yesterday I could scarcely move a limb. All day I was coughing, and had the most severe headache I ever had in my life; so by six o'clock in the evening I was obliged to go to bed, where I still am, though feeling somewhat better. Your brother dined with me yesterday, and has shown me great kindness. You are aware that on the same day, the 27th of December, I discharged B. [Baberl]. I cannot endure either of these vile creatures; I wonder if Nany will behave rather better from the departure of her colleague? I doubt it--but in that case I shall send her _packing_ without any ceremony. She is too uneducated for a housekeeper, indeed quite a _beast_; but the other, in spite of her pretty face, is even _lower than the beasts_. As the New Year draws near, I think five florins will be enough for Nany; I have not paid her the charge for _making her spencer_, on account of her _bad behavior to you_. The other certainly _deserves no New Year's gift_; besides, she has nine florins of mine on hand, and when she leaves I don't expect to receive more than four or five florins of that sum. I wish to have _your opinion about all this_. Pray accept my best wishes for your welfare, which are offered in all sincerity. I am your debtor in so many ways, that I really often feel quite ashamed. Farewell; I trust I may always retain your friendship.
Now, as ever, your friend,
L. V. BEETHOVEN.
203.
TO FRAU VON STREICHER.
I thank you for the interest you take in me. I am rather better, though to-day again I have been obliged to endure a great deal from Nany; but I shied half a dozen books at her head by way of a New Year's gift. We have stripped off the leaves (by sending off Baberl) and lopped off the branches, but we must extirpate the _roots_, till nothing is left but the actual soil.
204.
TO FRAU VON STREICHER.
Nany is not strictly _honest_, and an odiously stupid _animal_ into the bargain. Such people must be managed not by _love_ but by _fear_. I now see this clearly. Her account-book alone cannot show you everything clearly; you must often drop in unexpectedly at dinner-time, like an avenging angel, to see with your own eyes _what_ we actually have. I never dine at home now, _unless_ I have some friend as my guest, for I have no wish to pay as much for one person as would serve for four. I shall _now soon_ have my dear son Carl with me, so economy is more necessary than ever. I cannot prevail on myself to go to you; I know you will forgive this. I am very sensitive, and not used to such things, so the less ought I to expose myself to them. In addition to twelve kreutzers for bread, Nany has a roll of white bread every morning. Is this usual?--and it is the same with the cook. A daily roll for breakfast comes to eighteen florins a year. _Farewell_, and _work well_ for me. Mdlle. Nany is wonderfully changed for the better since I sent the half-dozen books at her head. Probably they chanced to come in collision with her _dull brain_ or her _bad heart_; at all events, she now plays the part of a penitent swindler!!!
In haste, yours,
BEETHOVEN.
205.
TO FRAU VON STREICHER.
Nany yesterday took me to task in the vulgar manner usual with people of her _low class_, about my complaining to you; so she evidently knew that I had written to you on the subject. All the devilry began again yesterday morning, but I made short work of it by throwing the heavy arm-chair beside my bed at B.'s head, which procured me peace for the rest of the day. They always take their revenge on me when I write to you, or when they discover any communication between us.
I do thank Heaven that I everywhere find men who interest themselves in me; one of the _most distinguished Professors_ in this University has in the kindest manner undertaken _all that concerns Carl's education_. If you happen to meet any of the Giannatasios at Czerny's, you had better _know nothing of what is going on about Carl_, and say that it is _contrary_ to my _usual habit to disclose my plans, as when a project is told to others it is no longer exclusively your own_. They would like to interfere in the matter, and I do not choose that these _commonplace people should do so, both for_ my _own sake and Carl's_. Over their portico is inscribed, in golden letters, "Educational Institution," whereas "_Non_-Educational Institution" would be more appropriate.
As for the servants, there is only _one voice_ about their immorality, to which _all_ the other annoyances here may be ascribed.
Pray receive my benediction in place of that of the Klosterneuburgers.[1]
In haste, your friend,
BEETHOVEN.
[Footnote 1: Frau von Streicher was at that time in Klosterneuburg.]
206.
TO FRAU VON STREICHER.
Judgment was executed to-day on the notorious criminal! She bore it nearly in the same spirit as Caesar did Brutus's dagger, except that in the former case truth formed the basis, while in hers only wicked malice. The kitchen-maid seems more handy than the former _ill-conducted beauty_; she no longer shows herself,--a sign that she does not expect a _good character_ from me, though I really had some thoughts of giving her one. The kitchen-maid at first made rather a wry face about carrying wood, &c.
207.
TO THE ARCHDUKE RUDOLPH.
Last day of December, 1816.
I have been again obliged to keep my room ever since the Burgher concert,[1] and some time must no doubt elapse before I shall be able to dismiss all precautions as to my health. The year is about to close; and with this new year my warmest wishes are renewed for the welfare of Y.R.H.; but indeed these have neither beginning nor end with me, for every day I cherish the same aspirations for Y.R.H. If I may venture to add a wish for myself to the foregoing, it is, that I may daily thrive and prosper more in Y.R.H.'s good graces. The master will always strive not to be unworthy of the favor of his illustrious master and pupil.
[K.]
[Footnote 1: Beethoven directed his A major Symphony in the Burgher concert in the Royal Redoutensaal on the 25th December, 1816.]
208.
TO G. DEL RIO.
... As to his mother, she urgently requested to see Carl in my house. You have sometimes seen me tempted to place more confidence in her, and my feelings would lead me to guard against harshness towards her, especially as it is not in her power to injure Carl. But you may well imagine that to one usually so independent of others, the annoyances to which I am exposed through Carl are often utterly insupportable, and above all with regard to his mother; I am only too glad to hear nothing of her, which is the cause of my avoiding her name. With respect to Carl, I beg you will enforce the strictest discipline on him, and if he refuses to obey your orders or to do his duty, I trust you will at once _punish_ him. Treat him as if he were your own child rather than a _mere pupil_, for I already told you that during his father's lifetime he only submitted to the discipline of blows, which was a bad system; still, such was the fact, and we must not forget it.
If you do not see much of me, pray ascribe it solely to the little inclination I have for society, which is sometimes more developed and sometimes less; and this you might attribute to a change in my feelings, but it is not so. What is good alone lives in my memory, and not what is painful. Pray impute therefore solely to these hard times my not more practically showing my gratitude to you on account of Carl. God, however, directs all things; so my position may undergo a favorable change, when I shall hasten to show you how truly I am, with sincere esteem, your grateful friend,
L. V. BEETHOVEN.
I beg you will read this letter to Carl.
209.
TO G. DEL RIO.
Carl must be at H.B.'s to-day before four o'clock; I must request you therefore to ask his professor to dismiss him at half-past three o'clock; if this cannot be managed he must not go into school at all. In the latter case, I will come myself and fetch him; in the former, I will meet him in the passage of the University. To avoid all confusion, I beg for an explicit answer as to what you settle. As you have been loudly accused of showing great party feeling, I will take Carl myself. If you do not see me, attribute it to my distress of mind, for I am now only beginning to feel the full force of this terrible incident.[1]
In haste, your
BEETHOVEN.
[Footnote 1: Probably the reversal of the first decree in the lawsuit with Carl's mother, who in order to procure a verdict more favorable to her claims, pointed out to the Austrian "Landrecht," where the lawsuit had been hitherto carried on, an error in their proceedings, the "Van," prefixed to Beethoven's name, having been considered by them a sign of nobility. Beethoven was cited to appear, and on the appointed day, pointing to his head and his heart, he said, "My nobility is here, and here." The proceedings were then transferred to the "magistrate," who was in universal bad odor from his mode of conducting his business.]
210.
TO G. DEL RIO.
The assertions of this wicked woman have made such a painful impression on me, that I cannot possibly answer every point to-day; to-morrow you shall have a detailed account of it all; but on no pretext whatever allow her to have access to Carl, and adhere to your rule that she is only to see him once a month. As she has been once this month already, she cannot come again till the next.
In haste, your
BEETHOVEN.
211.
TO HOFRATH VON MOSEL.
1817.
SIR,--
I sincerely rejoice that we take the same view as to the terms in use to denote the proper time in music which have descended to us from barbarous times. For example, what can be more irrational than the general term _allegro_, which only means _lively_; and how far we often are from comprehending the real time, so that the piece itself _contradicts the designation_. As for the four chief movements,--which are, indeed, far from possessing the truth or accuracy of the four cardinal points,--we readily agree _to dispense with them_, but it is quite another matter as to the words that indicate the character of the music; these we cannot consent to do away with, for while the time is, as it were, part and parcel of the piece, the _words denote the spirit in which it is conceived_.
So far as I am myself concerned, I have long purposed giving up those inconsistent terms _allegro_, _andante_, _adagio_, and _presto_; and Maelzel's metronome furnishes us with the best opportunity of doing so. I here _pledge_ myself _no longer_ to make use of them in any of my new compositions. It is another question whether we can by this means attain the necessary universal use of the metronome. I scarcely think we shall! I make no doubt that we shall be loudly proclaimed as _despots_; but if the cause itself were to derive benefit from this, it would at least be better than to incur the reproach of Feudalism! In our country, where music has become a national requirement, and where the use of the metronome must be enjoined on every village schoolmaster, the best plan would be for Maelzel to endeavor to sell a certain number of metronomes by subscription, at the present higher prices, and as soon as the number covers his expenses, he can sell the metronomes demanded by the national requirements at so cheap a rate, that we may certainly anticipate their _universal use_ and _circulation_. Of course some persons must take the lead in giving an impetus to the undertaking. You may safely rely on my doing what is in my power, and I shall be glad to hear what post you mean to assign to me in the affair.
I am, sir, with esteem, your obedient
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
212.
TO S.A. STEINER, MUSIC PUBLISHER,--VIENNA.
HIGHEST BORN! MOST ADMIRABLE! AND MARVELLOUS LIEUTENANT-GENERAL![1]
We beg you to give us bank-notes for twenty-four gold ducats at yesterday's rate of exchange, and to send them to us this evening or to-morrow, in order that we may forthwith _remit_ and _transmit_ them. I should be glad and happy if your trustworthy Adjutant were to bring me these, as I have something particular to say to him. He must forget all his resentment, like a good Christian; we acknowledge his merits and do not contest his demerits. In short, and once for all, we wish to see him. This evening would suit us best.
We have the honor to remain, most astounding Lieutenant-General! your devoted
GENERALISSIMUS.
[Footnote 1: Beethoven styled himself "Generalissimus," Herr A. Steiner "Lieutenant-General," and his partner, Tobias Haslinger, "Adjutant" and "Adjutant-General."]
213.
TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL VON STEINER.--PRIVATE.
PUBLICANDUM,--
After due consideration, and by the advice of our Council, we have determined and decreed that henceforth on all our works published with German titles, the word _Pianoforte_ is to be replaced by that of _Hammer Clavier_, and our worthy Lieutenant-General, his Adjutant, and all whom it may concern, are charged with the execution of this order.
Instead of Pianoforte--_Hammer Clavier_.
Such is our will and pleasure.
Given on the 23d of January, 1817, by the _Generalissimus_.
_Manu propria._
214.
TO STEINER.
The following dedication occurred to me of my new Sonata:--
"Sonata for the Pianoforte, or _Hammer Clavier_. Composed and dedicated to Frau Baronin Dorothea Ertmann--née Graumann, by Ludwig van Beethoven."
If the title is already engraved, I have the two following proposals to make; viz., that I pay for one title--I mean that it should be at my expense, or reserved for another new sonata of mine, for which purpose the mines of the Lieutenant-General (or _pleno titulo_, Lieutenant-General and First Councillor of State) must be opened to usher it into the light of day; the title to be previously shown to a good linguist. _Hammer Clavier_ is certainly German, and so is the device. Honor to whom honor is due! How is it, then, that I have as yet received no reports of the carrying out of my orders, which, however, have no doubt been attended to?
Ever and always your attached
_Amicus ad Amicum de Amico._
[Music: Treble clef. O Ad-ju-tant!]
N.B. I beg you will observe the most profound silence about the dedication, as I wish it to be a surprise!
215.
TO ZMESKALL.
Jan. 30, 1817.
DEAR Z.,--
You seem to place me on a level with Schuppanzigh, &c., and have distorted the plain and simple meaning of my words. You are not my debtor, but I am yours, and now you make me so more than ever. I cannot express to you the pain your gift has caused me, and I must candidly say that I cannot give you one friendly glance _in return_. Although you confine yourself to the practice of music, still you have often recourse to the power of imagination, and it seems to me that this not unfrequently leads to uncalled-for caprice on your part; at least, so it appeared to me from your letter after my dedication. Loving as my sentiments are towards you, and much as I prize all your goodness, still I feel provoked!--much provoked!--terribly provoked!
Your debtor afresh,
Who will, however, contrive to have his revenge,
L. VAN BEETHOVEN.
End of Project Gutenberg's Beethoven's Letters 1790-1826, Vol. 1 of 2 by Lady Wallace