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
to one of his old German dances, written for the Ridotto balls, in the
first movement of the A minor Quartet; what more likely than that,
thinking over the old German dance, he should have conceived the idea
of a _Danza tedesca_? Schuppanzigh’s high opinion of the Cavatina was
shared by many and also by Beethoven himself. Holz said that it cost
the composer tears in the writing and brought out the confession that
nothing that he had written had so moved him; in fact, that merely to
revive it afterwards in his thoughts and feelings brought forth renewed
tributes of tears.
The doubts about the effectiveness of the fugue felt by Beethoven’s
friends found an echo in the opinions of the critics. Mathias Artaria,
the publisher, who seems in this year to have entered the circle
of the composer’s intimate associates, presented the matter to him
in a practicable light. He had purchased the publishing rights of
the Quartet and after the performance he went to Beethoven with the
suggestion that he write a new finale and that the fugue be published
as an independent piece, for which he would remunerate him separately.
Beethoven listened to the protests unwillingly, but, “vowing he would
ne’er consent, consented” and requested the pianist Anton Halm, who
had played in the B-flat Trio at the concert, to make the pianoforte
arrangements for which there had already been inquiries at Artaria’s
shop. Halm accepted the commission and made the arrangement, with
which Beethoven was not satisfied; “You have divided the parts too
much between _prim_ and second,” he remarked to Halm,[147] referring
to a device which the arranger had adopted to avoid crossing of
hands--giving passages to the right hand which should logically have
been given to the left, the effect being the same to the ear but not to
the eye. Nevertheless, Halm presented a claim for 40 florins to Artaria
for the work, and was paid. Beethoven then made an arrangement and
sent it to Artaria, also demanding a fee. To this Artaria demurred and
asked Beethoven for Halm’s manuscript. Beethoven sent it by a messenger
(probably Holz) with instructions to get his arrangement in return for
it, but at the same time told Artaria, that while he did not ask that
Artaria publish his work, he was under no obligations to give it to
him; he might have it for twelve ducats. Artaria reconciled himself
to the matter and paid Beethoven his fee on September 5. Schindler
incorrectly states that the arrangement which Artaria announced on
March 10, 1827, as Op. 134 (the original score being advertised at the
same time as Op. 133), was Halm’s.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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