Life of Beethoven Part 13

"Suffer us, then, to hope for the speedy fulfilment of the wishes of all to whom your harmonies have penetrated. This is our second and most urgent request. May this year not pa.s.s without our being rejoiced by witnessing the fruits of our entreaties, and may the unfolding of one of those long-wished-for gifts render the coming spring to us, and to the whole world of art, a twofold time of promise.

"Vienna, February, 1824.

(Signed)

"PRINCE C. LICHNOWSKY.

ARTARIA & CO.

V. HAUSCHKA.

M. Z. LEIDESDORF.

J. E. VON WAYNA.

ANDREAS STREICHER.

ANTON HALM.

ABBe STADLER.

FERD. COUNT VON PALFY.

EDWARD BARON VON SCHWEIGER.

COUNT CZERNIN, Chamberlain.

MORITZ COUNT V. FRIES.

J. F. CASTELLI.

PROF. DEINHARDSTEIN.

CH. KUFFNER.

F. R. NEHAMMER.

STEINER VON FELSBURG.

MORITZ COUNT V. DIETRICHSTEIN.

IG. EDLER VON MOSEL.

KARL CZERNY.

MORITZ COUNT VON LICHNOWSKY.

VON ZMESKALL.

HOFRATH KIESEWETTER.

DR. N. SONNLEITHNER.

VON FELSBURG.

FERD. COUNT VON STOCKHAMMER.

ANTON DIABELLI.

STEINER & CO.

LEDERER.

J. N. BIHLER."

The bearers of this memorial indulged the expectation of receiving immediately from Beethoven an a.s.surance of his compliance with the requests contained in it; but in this they were egregiously mistaken, for he declined reading it till he should be alone. I had been prevented from being present when it was delivered to him, and arrived only just as he had finished its perusal. He communicated to me the contents, and, after running them over once more, handed the paper quietly to me; then turning towards the window, he remained some time looking up at the sky. I could not help observing that he was much affected, and, after I had read it, I laid it down without speaking, in the hope that he would first begin the conversation. After a long pause, whilst his eyes never ceased following the clouds, he turned round, and said, in a solemn tone which betrayed his internal emotion--"It is really gratifying!--I am much pleased." I nodded a.s.sent, and wrote in the conversation-book that he must now be convinced that he would meet with sufficient support, if he would resolve to have the two new pieces brought out soon at a concert. To this course he had always declared himself decidedly adverse, professing his conviction that, from the alteration which had taken place in musical taste, and in the intoxicated state of the public mind, no sensibility remained for what was truly great.[86]

Beethoven read what I had just written, and then said, "Let us get into the open air." When we were out, he appeared, contrary to his custom, rather disposed to taciturnity, but I remarked the glimmering of a latent wish to comply with the well-meant requests of his admirers.

After a good deal of discussion with one and another, it was at last decided that the works should be brought before the public--but where?

This was a question hard to answer, so that several weeks elapsed before it could be settled, and I will venture to say that the good people of Bonn were not so much perplexed to decide on the place best adapted for Beethoven's monument, and that many an entangled political problem was solved in less time at the Congress of Vienna.

Since Beethoven had intrusted to me alone the arrangement of the concert to be given, I might, in speaking of the difficulties I had to overcome, take occasion to mention at length the numerous obstacles and intrigues, the many basely avaricious demands, and the innumerable tricks and machinations, of which I became aware, but that it would lead me too far from my subject. I will therefore only observe, that, after a long debate, the place chosen was the Hof-Theater at the Karnthner Thor, but this did not advance the matter much. A new struggle was now to be commenced with the manager, M. Duport, who was no less zealous than the rest for the interests of his theatre, and wished to make a profit of Beethoven's undertaking.

When two flints had come into collision, what results could be expected?--especially as neither one nor the other remained steady to his first terms, but changed every day like a weatherc.o.c.k.

At length, in order to be at least certain of what were the wishes of one of the contracting parties, we were obliged to have recourse to the following stratagem: I begged Count Lichnowsky and M. Schuppanzigh to call on Beethoven at the same hour, as if by accident, and to sound him with regard to his intentions. On this occasion we were to endeavour to lead him to speak categorically on the several points in discussion, and one of us was immediately to write down whatever he should say, and then, half in jest, half in earnest, call on him to sign it.

The plan succeeded to admiration, but what was the consequence? From the whole procedure, Beethoven at length became aware of our design, and, suspecting as usual falsehood and treachery at the bottom, despatched to us the following sultan-like _hatti-sherif_:--

"_To the Count Moritz von Lichnowsky._

"I despise artifices. Let me have no more of your visits. The _Academy_ (the Concert) will not take place.

"BEETHOVEN."

"_To M. Schuppanzigh._

"Let me see you no more. I shall give no Academy.

"BEETHOVEN."

"_To M. Schindler._

"Do not come near me again till I send for you. No Academy.

"BEETHOVEN."

Fortunately Beethoven did not send us the silken cord along with these missives, so we all three remained in the land of the living. We suffered his anger to evaporate, and in the mean time a.s.sisted each other to do the best that we could for him.

Towards the end of April, Beethoven one day wrote to me in an angry mood:--"After these six weeks' squabbling about this and that, I feel absolutely boiled, stewed, and roasted. What is to be done at last about this much-talked-of Concert? Unless the prices are raised, what will remain for me after so many expenses, since the copying alone has cost so much?"

It will appear from this, that the princ.i.p.al point in discussion was concerning the raising the prices of admission. If Beethoven wished to get back the money that he had already expended, he must after all, nolens volens, submit to the demand of the manager, which was, that the Concert should take place in the theatre, on a subscription-night, at the ordinary prices; and that, for the use of it, as well as of the Chorus and Orchestra, the administration should receive the sum of one thousand florins, Vienna currency. There was no help for it. It was now--"Beethoven, submit to your fate."

The Concert took place on the 7th of May, 1824. The house was filled to overflowing. The gross receipts were 2220 florins; of which, subtracting 1000 for the theatre and 800 for the copying, there remained for Beethoven 420 florins. Every box was crammed, with the single exception of the Emperor's, which remained empty, although Beethoven had gone in person, in my company, to make the invitations to all the members of the Imperial family then in Vienna, and some of the ill.u.s.trious personages had promised to attend. When the time came, however, the Emperor and Empress were on a journey, and the Archduke Rudolph was in Olmutz; so that our great master was obliged to shift without the countenance of the Imperial court.

These were the immediate results of the concert. The details of the further consequences to Beethoven I may be permitted to pa.s.s over for the present, as I shall have much worse to notice in the sequel; but I cannot forbear mentioning some facts connected with the rehearsal of the vocal parts of the two works above alluded to.

It will perhaps be remembered that, in speaking of the performance of _Fidelio_, in the second period, I observed that Beethoven was in the habit of paying little attention to the possibility of the execution of what he wrote for the vocal parts. Innumerable proofs of this a.s.sertion may be found again in the second Ma.s.s and in the ninth Symphony, which, during the rehearsals of the chorus and solo parts, led to many unpleasant discussions. With due deference for the master, it was not possible to avoid telling him that this and that pa.s.sage could not be sung. The two ladies, Mademoiselle Sontag and Mademoiselle Ungher, who undertook the soprano and alto solos, came several times to practise them at Beethoven's house, and made the remark to him beforehand.[87]

[Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation]

[Ill.u.s.tration: *** The pa.s.sages marked with a *, and inserted in small notes, indicate the high notes alluded to.--ED.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation]

[Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation]

[Ill.u.s.tration: musical notation]

*** This is the very part I did alter, as shown in the above ill.u.s.tration; for if, as the sequel shows, a Sontag had perseverance and means sufficient to work it out, the same could not be expected from every singer, and least of all from the Chorus, which repeats the same pa.s.sage after the Solo performers.--ED.]

Mlle. Ungher did not hesitate to call him the tyrant of singers, but he only answered, smiling, that it was because they were both so spoiled by the modern Italian style of singing that they found the two new works difficult.[88] "But this high pa.s.sage here," said Sontag, pointing to the vocal Quartett in the Symphony,

Kusse gab sie uns und Reben--

"would it not be possible to alter that?"--"And this pa.s.sage, M. van Beethoven," continued Mademoiselle Ungher, "is also too high for most voices. Could we not alter that?"--"No! no! no!" was the answer,[89]--"Well then, for Heaven's sake (_in Gottes Namen_), let us work away at it again," said the patient Sontag.