Beethoven, the Man and the Artist Part 4

(July 1, 1823, to his pupil Archduke Rudolph.)

49. "The bad habit, which has clung to me from childhood, of always writing down a musical thought which occurs to me, good or bad, has often been harmful to me."

(July 23, 1815, to Archduke Rudolph, while excusing himself for not having visited H.R.H., on the ground that he had been occupied in noting a musical idea which had occurred to him.)

50. "As is my habit, the pianoforte part of the concerto (op. 19) was not written out in the score; I have just written it, wherefore, in order to expedite matters, you receive it in my not too legible handwriting."

(April 22, 1801, to the publisher Hofmeister, in Leipzig.)

51. "Correspondence, as you know, was never my forte; some of my best friends have not had a letter from me in years. I live only in my notes (compositions), and one is scarcely finished when another is begun. As I am working now I often compose three, even four, pieces simultaneously."

(Vienna, June 29, 1800, to Wegeler, in Bonn.)

52. "I never write a work continuously, without interruption. I am always working on several at the same time, taking up one, then another."

(June 1, 1816, to Medical Inspector Dr. Karl von Bursy, when the latter asked about an opera (the book by Berge, sent to Beethoven by Amenda), which was never written.)

53. "I must accustom myself to think out at once the whole, as soon as it shows itself, with all the voices, in my head."

(Note in a sketch-book of 1810, containing studies for the music to "Egmont" and the great Trio in B-flat, op. 97. H. E. K.)

54. "I carry my thoughts about me for a long time, often a very long time, before I write them down; meanwhile my memory is so faithful that I am sure never to forget, not even in years, a theme that has once occurred to me. I change many things, discard, and try again until I am satisfied. Then, however, there begins in my head the development in every direction, and, in as much as I know exactly what I want, the fundamental idea never deserts me,--it arises before me, grows,--I see and hear the picture in all its extent and dimensions stand before my mind like a cast, and there remains for me nothing but the labor of writing it down, which is quickly accomplished when I have the time, for I sometimes take up other work, but never to the confusion of one with the other.

"You will ask me where I get my ideas. That I cannot tell you with certainty; they come unsummoned, directly, indirectly,--I could seize them with my hands,--out in the open air; in the woods; while walking; in the silence of the nights; early in the morning; incited by moods, which are translated by the poet into words, by me into tones that sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes."

(Said to Louis Schlosser, a young musician, whom Beethoven honored with his friendship in 1822-23.)

55. "On the whole, the carrying out of several voices in strict relationship mutually hinders their progress."

(Fall of 1812, in the Diary of 1812-18.)

56. "Few as are the claims which I make upon such things I shall still accept the dedication of your beautiful work with pleasure. You ask, however, that I also play the part of a critic, without thinking that I must myself submit to criticism! With Voltaire I believe that 'a few fly-bites can not stop a spirited horse.' In this respect I beg of you to follow my example. In order not to approach you surrept.i.tiously, but openly as always, I say that in future works of the character you might give more heed to the individualization of the voices."

(Vienna, May 10, 1826. To whom the letter was sent is not known, though from the manner of address it is plain that he was of the n.o.bility.)

57. "Your variations show talent, but I must fault you for having changed the theme. Why? What man loves must not be taken away from him;--moreover to do this is to make changes before variations."

(Baden, July 6, 1804, to Wiedebein, a teacher of music in Brunswick.)

58. "I am not in the habit of rewriting my compositions. I never did it because I am profoundly convinced that every change of detail changes the character of the whole."

(February 19, 1813, to George Thomson, who had requested some changes in compositions submitted to him for publication.)

59. "One must not hold one's self so divine as to be unwilling occasionally to make improvements in one's creations."

(March 4, 1809, to Breitkopf and Hartel, when indicating a few changes which he wished to have made in the symphonies op. 67 and op. 68.)

60. "The unnatural rage for transcribing pianoforte pieces for string instruments (instruments that are in every respect so different from each other) ought to end. I stoutly maintain that only Mozart could have transcribed his own works, and Haydn; and without putting myself on a level with these great men I a.s.sert the same thing about my pianoforte sonatas. Not only must entire pa.s.sages be elided and changed, but additions must be made; and right here lies the rock of offence to overcome which one must be the master of himself or be possessed of the same skill and inventiveness. I transcribed but a single sonata for string quartet, and I am sure that no one will easily do it after me."

(July 13, 1809, in an announcement of several compositions, among them the quintet op. 29.)

61. "Were it not that my income brings in nothing, I should compose nothing but grand symphonies, church music, or, at the outside, quartets in addition."

(December 20, 1822, to Peters, publisher, in Leipzig. His income had been reduced from 4,000 to 800 florins by the depreciation of Austrian currency.)

[Here, in the original, is one of the puns which Beethoven was fond of making: "Ware mein Gehalt nicht ganzlich ohne Gehalt." H. E. K.]

ON PERFORMING MUSIC

While reading Beethoven's views on the subject of how music ought to be performed, it is but natural to inquire about his own manner of playing.

On this point Ries, his best pupil, reports:

"In general Beethoven played his own compositions very capriciously, yet he adhered, on the whole, strictly to the beat and only at times, but seldom, accelerated the tempo a trifle. Occasionally he would r.e.t.a.r.d the tempo in a crescendo, which produced a very beautiful and striking effect. While playing he would give a pa.s.sage, now in the right hand, now in the left, a beautiful expression which was simply inimitable; but it was rarely indeed that he added a note or an ornament."

Of his playing when still a young man one of his hearers said that it was in the slow movements particularly that it charmed everybody. Almost unanimously his contemporaries give him the palm for his improvisations.

Ries says: