Vienna, May 8, 1816.
My answer comes somewhat tardily; but I was ill, had much to do and it was impossible for me to answer you sooner; now only the most necessary things—not a Heller of the 10 ducats in gold has as yet arrived, and I am already beginning to believe, that the Englishmen, too, are only magnanimous in foreign lands; so also with the Prince Regent from whom I have not even received the copyist’s fees for my Battle sent to him, not even written or oral thanks;[167] Fries here deducted 6 fl. Convention money. On the receipt of the money from Birchall, besides 15 fl. Convention money for postage, tell B. this—and see that you yourself get the draft for the 10 ducats, otherwise it will go like the first time—what you tell me about Neate’s undertaking would be desirable for me. I need it, my salary amounts to 3400 florins in paper, I pay 1100 house-rent, my servant and his wife nearly 900 fl. Calculate what remains. Moreover, I have got to care wholly for my little nephew. He is till now still in the Institute; this costs me close to 1100 fl. and is poor besides, so that I must establish myself in decent housekeeping so that I can have him with me. How much one must earn in order to live here; and yet there is never an end for—for—for—you know it already. As to the dedications another time. A few orders besides the concert would also be welcome from the Philharmonic Society—besides my dear pupil Ries ought to sit down and dedicate something good to me to which the master would also respond and repay kind with kind. How shall I send you my portrait! I hope too, to have news from Neate, urge him on a bit, be assured of my sincere interest in your futures. Urge Neate on to work and composition. All things lovely to your wife. Unfortunately I have none. I found only one, whom I shall doubtless never possess; but am not a woman hater on that account.
Your true friend,
Beethoven.
Ungrounded Suspicion of Neate
Immediately upon the receipt of this letter, Ries spoke with Mr. Birchall, who next day (March 15), deposited the £5 with Coutts and Co.; but month after month passed and still the “Declaration” with Beethoven’s signature did not arrive. Of the justice, propriety, delicacy of this new demand, nothing need be said; its historical importance is due entirely to the very unfavorable effect which it and the correspondence relating to it produced upon the minds of the London publishers. Mr. Neate was in some degree prepared for the coldness with which those gentlemen received his proposals in Beethoven’s behalf, by a letter written to him after the trial of the overtures. One sentence in it he remembered word for word: “For God’s sake, don’t buy anything of Beethoven!” But he was not prepared for the utter refusal in all quarters to listen to him. He besought Mr. Birchall to purchase the overtures. The reply was: “I would not print them, if you would give me them gratis.”
As to the score of the Symphony in A (the Seventh), it was folly to expect that the Philharmonic Society would pay a large sum for the manuscript of a work already (March 6) advertised in Vienna for subscription at the price of twenty-five florins.
It is another instance of Beethoven’s unlucky tendency to suspect the conduct and motives of others, that seeing in a newspaper a notice of the production of one of his Symphonies by the Philharmonic Society, he at once assumed that it was the Seventh and that Neate had given the use of his manuscript!
Under such circumstances Neate could do nothing for Beethoven; nor could he well disclose the true causes of his failure; so the composer characteristically assumed that he would do nothing, and, as will be seen, gave vent to his wrath in terms equally bitter and unjust. The letters selected pertaining to these transactions are reserved for their places in chronological order.
Linke’s departure with the Erdödys to Croatia was noted in the last chapter; he returned to Vienna in the Autumn in season to enable Schuppanzigh to begin his winter season of quartets in November. They were given in the hall of the hotel “Zum Römischen Kaiser,” and had now ended. So, too, had ended the engagement of Schuppanzigh, Weiss and Linke with Rasoumowsky. The destruction of his palace, the approach of old age, and failing sight, induced him now to dismiss them with suitable pensions from his service. Schuppanzigh went to Russia; Linke returned to the Erdödys and Weiss remained in Vienna. Before their departure the first two gave each a farewell concert. Schuppanzigh’s took place in the palace of Count Deym, the programme being made up entirely of Beethoven’s works, viz: Quartet C major, Op. 59; Quintet for Wind-instruments and Pianoforte, Op. 16, Carl Czerny, pianist; and the Septet, Op. 20. Beethoven “entered at the beginning of the quartet” and shared in the deafening applause of the crowded audience. Czerny relates: “When I played the Quintet with Wind-instruments at Schuppanzigh’s concert, I allowed myself in my youthful frivolity, many changes—increasing the difficulty of passages, using the higher octaves, etc. Beethoven very properly and severely upbraided me for it in the presence of Schuppanzigh, Linke and the other players. The next day I received from him the following letter, which I copy exactly from the original lying before me”:
I cannot see you to-day, to-morrow I will come to you in person to talk with you. I burst out so yesterday, I was very sorry after it had happened, but you must pardon it in an author who would have preferred to hear his work just as he wrote it, beautifully as you played otherwise. I will make it good publicly to-morrow at the Violoncello Sonata.