Did Beethoven attend the concert, and did he afterwards go upon the stage, lift up the prodigy and kiss him? So the world has long believed on the authority of Nohl,[90] who got the story from Liszt himself. Schindler ought to be a good witness in this case, since he pleaded the cause of the little lad before his great friend; but unfortunately Schindler in this instance gives testimony at one time which he impeaches at another. In the second edition of his “Biography of Beethoven” (Münster, 1845, second appendix, page 71, note) he says:
One can never know if a child will grow into a man, and if so what kind of man; so I could not foresee when I introduced the promising boy Liszt and his father in 1823, to Beethoven, what kind of musical vandal would grow out of this young talent. Did Beethoven have a premonition? The reception was not the usual friendly one and I had reason at the time not to be particularly satisfied, since the prodigy had interested me in an unusual degree. Beethoven himself noticed that he had been somewhat lax in his interest in little Franz, which made it easy to persuade him to honor the concert of little Liszt with his presence in order to atone for the indifference he had first shown.
In the third edition of his book (1860, Part II, p. 178) he says:
The author knows of only one reception to which the term “friendly” can not be applied. It was in the case of little Franz Liszt, who, accompanied by his father, was presented by me. This unfriendliness grew out of the excessive idolization of this truly sensational talent; but chiefly it was due to the request made of Beethoven to give the twelve-year-old lad a theme for improvisation at his farewell concert—a request which was as indiscreet as it was unreasonable. But hyperenthusiasm always betrays a want of timeliness. It is not impossible that this enthusiasm, after Beethoven had declined the request with obvious displeasure, yet managed to secure from Emperor Franz, or at least Archduke Rudolph, a theme for the young virtuoso. The idolatry of the wonder-child gave the master, who had gone through so severe a school of experience, a text for many observations on the hindrances and clogs to the equable development of extraordinary talents as soon as they were made the darlings of the multitude. Sketches of the life of Liszt have stated that Beethoven attended the farewell concert of 1823; in Schilling’s encyclopædia it is added that Beethoven at this concert shook the hand of little Liszt and thereby designated him as worthy of the name of artist. Beethoven did not attend the concert; nor any private concert after 1816.[91]
The visit of Louis Schloesser, afterwards chapelmaster in Darmstadt, who delivered the message from the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, took place in the spring of the year. His description of the visit was printed in the journal “Hallelujah” in 1885 (Nos. 20 and 21). Schloesser revisited him later and met him afterwards in town, walking with him to Steiner, whom he said he was about to take to task for a remissness. “When it comes to the publication of a new work,” Beethoven said, “they would like to postpone it as long as possible, even till after my death, thinking thus to do a better business with it; but I shall checkmate them.” Schloesser was surprised on this occasion to find Beethoven dressed with unwonted elegance and remarked the fact to Mayseder, who explained, with a smile, that it was not the first time that his friends had stolen his old clothes at night and left new ones in their place. Mayseder added that the substitution was never noticed by Beethoven, who donned the garments with perfect calmness. Schloesser observes that he never detected the least sign of absentmindedness in Beethoven.
At the last meeting between the men Schloesser showed Beethoven one of his compositions, a somewhat complicated work. Beethoven looked through it and observed: “You write too much; less would have been better. That’s the way of our young heaven-stormers who think that they can never do enough. But that will change with riper age, and I prefer a superabundance to a paucity of ideas.” To the question how this might be attained Schloesser says Beethoven replied “literally”:
I carry my thoughts about me for a long time, often a very long time, before I write them down. Meanwhile my memory is so tenacious that I am sure never to forget, not even in years, a theme that has once occurred to me. I change many things, discard and try again until I am satisfied. Then, however, there begins in my head the development in every direction and, insomuch as I know exactly what I want, the fundamental idea never deserts me—it arises before me, grows—I see and hear the picture in all its extent and dimensions stand before my mind like a cast and there remains for me nothing but the labor of writing it down, which is quickly accomplished when I have the time, for I sometimes take up other work, but never to the confusion of one with the other. You will ask me where I get my ideas? That I can not tell you with certainty; they come unsummoned, directly, indirectly,—I could seize them with my hands out in the open air; in the woods; while walking; in the silence of the night; early in the morning; incited by moods which are translated by the poet into words, by me into tones,—sound and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.
At parting, Beethoven gave Schloesser a sheet containing a canon for six voices on the words, “Edel sei der Mensch, hülfreich und gut,” with the inscription: “Words by Goethe, tones by Beethoven. Vienna, May, 1823.” On the back he wrote: “A happy journey, my dear Herr Schloesser, may all things which seem desirable come to meet you. Your devoted Beethoven.”[92] Judging by the position of the canon in the Rudolphinian Collection, Nottebohm was of the opinion that it was composed at an earlier date, say 1819-20. Beethoven also gave Schloesser, who was going to Paris, a letter of introduction to Cherubini which accomplished his acceptance as a pupil of the Conservatoire.
Our old friend Schuppanzigh, after an absence of seven years, returned to Vienna in 1823. On May 4 he gave a concert at which Piringer conducted the orchestra, and on June 14 the quartet meetings were resumed, with Holz, Weiss and Linke as his associates.
Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli