The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume IIThayer, Alexander Wheelock
History
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II
Thayer, Alexander Wheelock
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827
From what I heard I could come to the conclusion that in some
manner he must have offended the lady and was trying to make
amends by an exhibition of good humor. At last he jumped up
and shouted: “Why, all those things are by me!” I had played
nothing but movements from his works, connecting them with short
transition-phrases, which seemed to please him. The lady soon went
away and to my great amazement Beethoven did not know who she was.
I learned that she had come in shortly before me in order to make
Beethoven’s acquaintance. We followed her in order to discover her
lodgings and later her station. We saw her from a distance (it
was moonlight),[22] but suddenly she disappeared. Chatting on all
manner of topics we walked for an hour and a half in the beautiful
valley adjoining. On going, however, Beethoven said: “I must find
out who she is and you must help me.” A long time afterward I met
her in Vienna and discovered that she was the mistress of a foreign
prince. I reported the intelligence to Beethoven, but never heard
anything more about her either from him or anybody else.
The rehearsal at Schuppanzigh’s on “Wednesday” (18th) mentioned in
the letter of July 14th, was for the benefit of Ries, who was to play
in the first of the second series of the regular Augarten Thursday
concerts which took place the next day (19th) or, perhaps, the 26th.
Ries says on page 113 of the “Notizen”:
Beethoven had given me his beautiful Concerto in C minor (Op. 37)
in manuscript so that I might make my first public appearance ~as
his pupil~ with it; and I am the only one who ever appeared as such
while Beethoven was alive.... Beethoven himself conducted, but
he only turned the pages and never, perhaps, was a concerto more
beautifully accompanied. We had two large rehearsals. I had asked
Beethoven to write a cadenza for me, but he refused and told me to
write one myself and he would correct it. Beethoven was satisfied
with my composition and made few changes; but there was an
extremely brilliant and very difficult passage in it, which, though
he liked it, seemed to him too venturesome, wherefore he told me to
write another in its place. A week before the concert he wanted to
hear the cadenza again. I played it and floundered in the passage;
he again, this time a little ill-naturedly, told me to change it. I
did so, but the new passage did not satisfy me; I therefore studied
the other, and zealously, but was not quite sure of it. When the
cadenza was reached in the public concert Beethoven quietly sat
down. I could not persuade myself to choose the easier one. When
I boldly began the more difficult one, Beethoven violently jerked
his chair; but the cadenza went through all right and Beethoven was
so delighted that he shouted “Bravo!” loudly. This electrified the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II — John Shaqi
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account