Advice to the Critics of Leipsic
... As regards your request for compositions by me I regret that at this time I am unable to oblige you; but please tell me what kind of compositions of mine you want, viz., symphonies, quartets, sonatas, etc., so that I may govern myself accordingly, and in case I have what you need or want I may place it at your service. If I am right, 8 works of mine are about to appear at Mollo’s in this place; four pieces at Hofmeister’s in Leipsic; in this connection I wish to add that one of my first concertos[102] and therefore not one of the best of my compositions, is to be published by Hofmeister, and that Mollo is to publish a Concerto which, indeed, was written later[103] but nevertheless does not rank among the best of my works in this form. This is only a hint for your musical journal in the matter of criticism of these works, although if one might hear them (well-played, that is), one would best be able to judge them. Musical policy requires that one should keep possession for a space of the best concertos. You should recommend to Messrs. your critics great care and wisdom especially in the case of the products of younger authors; many a one may be frightened off who otherwise might, probably, accomplish more; so far as I am concerned I am far from thinking that I am so perfect as not to be subject to blame, yet the howls of your critics against me were at first so humiliating that after comparing myself with others I could not get angry, but remained perfectly quiet, and concluded they did not understand their business; it was the easier to remain quiet since I saw the praise lavished on people who have no significance in loco in the eyes of the better sort, and who disappeared from sight here no matter how good they may otherwise have been—but pax vobiscum—peace for me and them—I would not have mentioned a syllable about the matter had not you yourself done so.
Coming recently to a friend who showed me the amount which had been collected for the daughter of the immortal god of harmony, I marvel at the smallness of the sum which Germany, especially your Germany, had contributed in recognition of the individual who seems to me worthy of respect for her father’s sake, which brings me to the thought how would it do if I were to publish a work for the benefit of this person by subscription, acquaint the public each year with the amount and its proceeds in order to assure her against possible misfortune. Write me quickly how this might best be accomplished so that something may be done before this Bach dies, before this brook[104] dries up and we be no longer able to supply it with water. That you would publish the work is self-evident.
Poor Maximilian’s health having become precarious, the welfare of the Teutonic Order in those revolutionary times demanded that a wise and energetic successor to him as Grand Master should be secured in the person of an efficient coadjutor. The thoughts of all parties concerned fixed upon a man who was then not even a member of the order, in case he would join it and accept the position, namely, the famous Archduke Karl. A Grand Chapter was therefore called at Vienna, which opened June 1st, and which unanimously admitted him to membership, he receiving a dispensation from taking the oaths for the time being. On June 3rd, he was elected coadjutor and on the 11th he received the accolade. The circular which called the meeting brought to the Austrian capital the whole body of officials employed at Mergentheim, and thus it happened that Stephan von Breuning, whose name appears in the Calendar of the order from 1797 to 1803, inclusive, as Hofrathsassessor, came again to Vienna and renewed intimate personal intercourse with Beethoven. Another of our old Bonn acquaintances had also recently come thither, he of whom (in the opinion of the present writer) Beethoven writes to Amenda: “Now to my comfort a man has come again”—namely, Anton Reicha. In the spring of this year Beethoven removed from the Tiefer Graben into rooms overlooking one of the bastions—there is little if any doubt, the Wasserkunstbastei—and in one of those houses the main entrances to which are in the Sailerstätte. At a later period of his life he came thither again, and with good reason; for those houses not only afforded a beautiful view over the Glacis and the Landsstrasse suburb, but plenty of sun and fresh air. In the Hamberger house, where now stands No. 15, he had often gone with his exercises to Joseph Haydn, and hard by lived his friend Anton von Türkheim, Royal Imperial Truchsess—that is, carver.
This year he chose Hetzendorf for his summer retreat. Those who know well the environs of Vienna, are aware that this village offers less attraction to the lover of nature than a hundred others within easy distance of the city. There is nothing to invite one, who is fond of the solitude of the forest, but the thick groves in the garden of Schönbrunn some ten minutes’ walk distant. It is certainly possible that Beethoven’s state of health may have forbidden him to indulge his taste for long rambles, and that the cool shades of Schönbrunn, so easily and at all times accessible, may have determined his choice. It would be pleasant to believe, though there is no evidence to support such a belief, that some feeling of regard for his former patron Maximilian, who had sought retirement at Hetzendorf, was one of the causes which induced the composer to spend this summer there.
Oratorio: “The Mount of Olives”
That was a period at Vienna fruitful in short sacred cantatas. On certain days in the spring and late autumn no theatrical performances were allowed and the principal composers embraced the opportunity to exhibit their skill and invention in this branch of their art; sometimes in concerts for their own benefit, more commonly in those for public charities. Haydn, Salieri, Winter, Süssmayr, Paër, are names that will occur in this connection to every student of Vienna’s musical annals. Beethoven, ever ready to compete with the greatest talent in at least one work, and desirous of producing at his next concert the novelty of an extensive vocal composition by himself, determined to compose a work of this class. The subject chosen was “Christus am Ölberg.”[105] Its composition was the grand labor of this summer. “The text was written by me in collaboration with the poet within 14 days,” writes Beethoven in one of his letters, “but the poet was musical and had already written many things for music; I was able to consult with him at any moment.” This poet was Franz Xaver Huber, fertile writer in general literature and a popular author for the Vienna stage, who occupied so high a place in public esteem, that his consent to prepare the text of the “Christus” is another indication of the high reputation of Beethoven. The merits and demerits of the poem need not be expatiated upon; Beethoven’s own words show that he was in part responsible for them. Schindler says:
Beethoven also lived in Hetzendorf in 1805 and composed his “Fidelio.” A coincidence touching the two works, one that remained in the lively memory of Beethoven for many years, was that he composed both of them in the thicket of the forest in the Schönbrunner Hofgarten, sitting on the hill between two oaks which branched out from the trunk about two feet from the ground. This oak, which always remained remarkable in his eyes (it is to the left of the Gloriet), I found again with Beethoven as late as 1823, and it awakened in him interesting memories of the early period.
So far as has been determined, the compositions completed in 1801 were the Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin, Op. 23 and 24; the Pianoforte Sonatas in A-flat, Op. 26, E-flat, Op. 27, No. 1, and C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, and D major, Op. 28; and the Quintet in C major, Op. 29. “The Andante in D minor of the Sonata, Op. 28,” says Czerny, “was long his favorite and he played it often for his own pleasure.” The twelve Contradances and six Rustic Dances (Ländler) are sketched in part on the first staves of the Kessler sketchbook. If we are justified in assuming that they were composed for the balls of the succeeding winter and were played from manuscript, it would follow that they also are to be counted among the compositions completed in this year.