The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume IIIThayer, Alexander Wheelock
History
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III
Thayer, Alexander Wheelock
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827
[110] “Abgerissene Sätze wie Fürsten sind Bettler u. s. w.” The phrase
is probably a record of Beethoven’s imperfect recollection of the line
“_Bettler_ werden Fürstenbrüder,” which appeared in an early version
of Schiller’s poem where now we read “_Alle Menschen werden Brüder_.”
The thought lies near that it was the early form of the poem, when
it was still an “Ode to Freedom” (not “to Joy”), which first aroused
enthusiastic admiration for it in Beethoven’s mind. In a Conversation
Book of 1824 Bernard says to Beethoven: “In your text it reads,”
followed by the observation, “All this is due here to the direction
of the aristocracy”--which may or may not have connection with a
conversation in which politics was playing a part.
[111] So Thayer remarks.
[112] For this assumption the present editor is alone responsible.
Thayer, who says nothing on the subject, corrects Schindler’s date to
March 20, for no obvious reason.
[113] The statement about the _Kyrie_ was made by Holz to Jahn; that
about the Symphony, by Fuchs.
[114] The incident is variously related. Schindler and Fräulein Unger
(the latter of whom told it to George Grove in London in 1869) say
that it took place at the end of the concert. Thalberg, the pianist,
who was present, says that it was after the Scherzo. A note amongst
Thayer’s papers reads: “November 23, 1860. I saw Thalberg in Paris.
He told me as follows: He was present at Beethoven’s concert in the
Kärnthnerthor Theatre 1824. Beethoven was dressed in black dress-coat,
white neckerchief, and waistcoat, black satin small-clothes, black silk
stockings, shoes with buckles. He saw after the Scherzo of the 9th
symphony, how B. stood turning over the leaves of his score utterly
deaf to the immense applause, and Unger pulled him by the sleeve and
then pointed to the audience when he turned and bowed. Umlauf told the
choir and orchestra to pay no attention whatever to Beethoven’s beating
of the time but all to watch him. Conradin Kreutzer was at the P. F.”
Did Thalberg describe Beethoven’s dress correctly? Evidently not. In
a conversation just before the concert Schindler, who is to call for
Beethoven, tells him to make himself ready. “We will take everything
with us now; also take your green coat, which you can put on when you
conduct. The theatre will be dark and no one will notice it.... O,
great master, you do not own a black frock coat! The green one will
have to do; in a few days the black one will be ready.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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