The highest rank among the artists of Berlin must be accorded to Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788).[ 20 ] He was summoned to the Prussian capital in 1738 as accompanist to the then Crown Prince, and after 1756 he shared the office with Fasch. He was an accomplished and tasteful accompanist, but the wearisome monotony of the royal concerts disgusted him, and as an artist he could not but be annoyed at the King's narrow prejudices. He revenged himself by refusing to comply when Frederick, who liked to play in "various times" required his accompanist to give way to him. This led to a dislike on the King's part, which prevented him from duly appreciating Bach;[ 21 ] and the latter willingly obeyed a summons to Hamburg in 1767, to fill Telemann's place. His technical studies, founded on J. Sebastian Bach's system of fingering, and his clavier sonatas entitle him to be considered as the father of modem pianoforte-playing, and Haydn acknowledged him alone as his model.[ 22 ] He was held in unbounded reverence as a creative and original artist, especially in Berlin and Hamburg,[ 23 ] and deserved equal respect as a man of cultivation and good-breeding. Nicolai declares that what Quintilian says of Cicero may be applied VAN SWIETEN AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. with equal truth to Bach: that those who have learnt to appreciate his works above all others have made a marked advance along the path of knowledge.[ 24 ] The school of Joh. Sebastian Bach was represented in all its severity and scholarly learning by his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), who passed the later years of his life in Berlin, as much admired as an artist of genius and scholarship[ 25 ] as he was dreaded and disliked by reason of his overbearing egotism and eccentric fancies.[ 26 ] Agricola was also a pupil, and like all his pupils, an enthusiastic admirer of Seb. Bach, but Kirnberger was undoubtedly his greatest apostle. It was he who represented the school of Bach in Berlin, side by side with the operatic school of Hasse and Graun, and he was mainly, though far from exclusively,[ 27 ] active in developing the instrumental style, which determined the taste of the Berlin musical world.[ 28 ]
The position of music in Berlin was peculiar in that it had gained recognition for itself, even in respect of its literature. Not a few musicians were cultivated and scientific men, ready with their pen and anxious to employ it in the KIRN BERGER—MARPURG. musical cause. Quanz's "Course of Flute-Playing" (1752) was followed by Ph. Em. Bach's "True Art of Playing the Clavier" (1753, 1761) and Agricola's "Introduction to the Art of Song" (1757); and together with these may be noted Marpurg's "Art of Playing the Clavier" (1750), "Introduction to Clavier-Playing" (1755, 1765), and "Introduction to Music and Singing" (1763); it was no small honour for Leop. Mozart's "Violin Method" to find recognition in this circle (Vol. I., p. 16). The writings of the advocate Krause on musical poetry (1752), of Nichelmann on melody (1755), and Marpurg's "Introduction to Vocal Composition" (1758) must not be omitted from the list.
The theory of harmony and counterpoint was studied with equal zeal, and Kimberger and Marpurg have earned for themselves a place of honour in the history of music.
Joh. Phil. Kimberger (1721-1783), Kammermusicus to the Princess Amalie, a pupil of Seb. Bach, was of small merit as a composer, but, being a sagacious man, and fond of research, he busied himself in tracing the principles and maxims of composition through the works of his revered master.[ 29 ] The gift of literary expression was denied to him by his education and manner of life; and unless he were assisted by friends such as Agricola, Sulzer, or his pupil Schulz, he found it difficult to express his views with clearness.[ 30 ] His intellect, knowledge, and study were considerable, his character open and estimable;[ 31 ] but he was embittered by the want of the recognition which he believed to be his due. Want of refinement led him to turn his critical acumen into a weapon of attack, which he often used in a manner both spiteful and unjust.[ 32 ] Quanz had maintained that a VAN SWIETEN AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. genuine duet admitted of no bass, and published some duets to prove his point; Kimberger played the duets on the church organ while Quanz was receiving the communion, with a bass added.[ 33 ]
Friedr. Wilh. Marpurg (1718-1795) thereupon took up the cudgels, and endeavoured to prove from Kimberger's fugues that he was the last man who had a right to make himself conspicuous as a critic. This gave rise to a feud, which was carried on with great bitterness on both sides, respecting various principles of musical theory. Marpurg had the advantage of a thorough school and university education. As private secretary to General Bodenberg he had enjoyed intercourse with Voltaire, D'Alembert, and Maupertuis, and a lengthened stay in Paris in 1746 had made him familiar with the French cultivation of the time. After 1749 he lived in Berlin. In his youth he had been the friend of Winckelmann[ 34 ] and the companion of Lessing, in his jovial hours as well as in his studies and controversies.[ 35 ] Shrewd and thorough in matters of research, and of passionate temper, he could neither brook contradiction nor control his violence;[ 36 ] and superior as he was to Kirnberger in powers of expression, he yielded nothing to him in coarseness and virulence of attack.[ 37 ]
Yet another influence on musical affairs in Berlin remains to be noted, viz., the musical journals edited by Marpurg and the musicians and scholars associated with him—"The Musical Critic on the River Spree" (1749-1750), "Critical and Historical Contributions to the Study of Music" (1754-1762), and "Critical Letters on Music" (1760-1764).
Music was treated also by literary men from a more general point of view. Sulzer included music in his LIBBHABERCONCERT IN BERLIN "Treatise on the Fine Arts" (1771-1774), and sought counsel of professional men better versed in the art than himself. He selected Kirnberger as the fittest man for his purpose, and after him his pupil J. A. P. Schulz, who was inferior to his master in scholarly acquirements, but far superior to him in clearness and facility.[ 38 ] The great influence which Sulzer's work exercised in Germany caused his views upon music therein expressed to be appealed to as a sort of final authority. Fr. Nicolai was exceedingly fond of music, and made it a practical study.[ 39 ] He was personally acquainted with all the great musicians, especially Agricola, Marpurg, and Reichardt, and he set himself seriously to form musical opinions founded on his own observation. When he undertook the German Universal Cyclopedia in 1765, he included music in the list of subjects treated. Nicolai's influence in Berlin was great,[ 40 ] and a literary organ of so much importance could not fail to give weight and consideration to musical criticism.
The practical result of these musical efforts, so far as they did not proceed immediately from the King, consisted mainly in the "Liebhaberconcert," founded in 1770, and held every Friday evening under Nicolai's direction.[ 41 ] All available forces were assembled on these occasions; orchestral works, native or foreign, were performed, vocal and instrumental virtuosi found an audience, and great vocal compositions were frequently produced, such as Graun's and Ph. Eman. Bach's sacred music, and what is more noteworthy, Handel's oratorios, especially "Judas Maccabæus," the "Feast of Alexander," and the "Messiah."[ 42 ] Earnest and VAN SWIETEN AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. upright intention, and efforts after intellectual comprehension in art, deserve all recognition, even when united with partiality, pedantry, and quarrelsomeness. The supremacy claimed by Frederick the Great's capital, even in music, extended to South Germany, and especially to Vienna. Wagenseil and Steffan, at that time men of considerable note in Vienna, are complacently taken to task by Marpurg.[ 43 ] Nicolai openly says[ 44 ] that after Fux's death Vienna had various good composers, but no extraordinary genius worthy to rank with Seb. and Ph. Em. Bach, Telemann, Graun, or Hasse, men who had determined the course of musical progress in North Germany until Haydn appeared. The Viennese, on the other hand, were entirely ignorant of all that concerned music in North Germany, and especially in Berlin.[ 45 ]
Youthful impulses could not altogether fail, however, to stir the musical world of Berlin. The French operetta, conducted for a long time by Schulz,[ 46 ] and still more the German opera after 1771,[ 47 ] had the effect of gradually reforming the taste of the general public. Prince Henry, who had an excellent band in his pay, was by no means so devoted to old music and the old composers as the King.[ 48 ] His concertmeister Joh. Pet. Salomon (1745-1815), whom Reichardt heard perform Bach's violin solos without accompaniment exceedingly well,[ 49 ] produced Haydn's symphonies and quartets HAYDN'S MUSIC IN BERLIN. with zeal and energy.[ 50 ] His successor, J. A. P. Schulz (1747-1800), a pupil of Kirnberger's, who had made a lengthened tour in Italy, and become personally acquainted with Haydn,[ 51 ] followed his natural inclination—to the great dissatisfaction of his master—in composing after the new style,[ 52 ] and wishing to produce not only Haydn's but Gluck's music. His attempts were unsuccessful, but Haydn's music was admired by others besides the more youthful of the public. There were, it is true, supporters of the old music, who made a noisy exit whenever Haydn's music was performed; but others, such as Marpurg, laughed at such folly, and did not withhold their recognition of his genius;[ 53 ] Nicolai speaks of him with frank and enlightened approbation.[ 54 ] Reichardt, as kapellmeister to the king, could not afford an independent judgment;[ 55 ] but he endeavoured, by the "Concert spirituel''[ 56 ] which he set on foot, and by his compositions and writings,[ 57 ] to turn the interest of the public in new directions.[ 58 ]
It was into this peculiar musical atmosphere, so different from that of Vienna, that Van Swieten entered at Berlin. His turn of mind being essentially rational and methodical,[ 59 ] disposed him to sympathy with the severe Berlin school, and to a partiality for a concise style; he was enchanted with the music of Handel and Bach, which he brought back with him to Vienna, and turned to account by means of his personal VAN SWIETEN AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. friendship with Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He commissioned Ph. Em. Bach to compose, in 1774, six grand orchestral symphonies, with the express wish that he would allow his genius full play, without any regard to difficulty of execution.[ 60 ] In Berlin also Van Swieten became better acquainted with Haydn than was possible in Vienna, and like Mozart and the youthful Beethoven, he' loved and reverenced him next to Handel and Bach. "As far as music is concerned," he writes (December, 1798), "I have gone back to the times when it was thought necessary before practising an art to study it thoroughly and systematically. In such study I find nourishment for my mind and heart, and support when any fresh proof of the degeneracy of the art threatens to cast me down. My chief comforters are Handel and the Bachs, and with them the few masters of our own day who tread firmly in the footsteps of the truly great and good, and either give promise of reaching the same goal, or have already attained to it. In this there can be no doubt that Mozart, had he been spared to us, would have succeeded; Joseph Haydn stands actually at the goal."[ 61 ] On his return to Vienna (which took place about 1778) he at once assumed a position of great importance. He succeeded to his father's office as Prefect of the Imperial Library, was appointed President of the Education Commission in 1781, and intrusted with the conduct of the educational scheme which was introduced throughout the Empire in 1783. Knowledge, intelligence, and zeal he certainly possessed;[ 62 ] but he was wanting in the energy and decision necessary to carry out the projects he conceived.[ 63 ] His influential position, rank, and wealth, the hereditary fame of his family, and the importance of his mission at the court of Frederick the Great, gave him the right to a place among the most distinguished society. He exerted all his influence in the cause of music, even for so subordinate an VAN SWIETEN'S PERSONAL INFLUENCE. end as to enforce silence and attention during musical performances. Whenever a whispered conversation arose among the audience, his excellency would rise from his seat in the first row, draw himself up to his full majestic height, measure the offenders with a long, serious look, and then very slowly resume his seat. The proceeding never failed of its effect.[ 64 ] Van Swieten was not liberal in money matters; he always had it in his power to collect money among his friends of high rank for musical purposes, and he did not fail on such occasions to contribute his own quota;[ 65 ] but he was not by any means generous for a wealthy and childless man. Haydn's experience supported this view,[ 66 ] and the eulogies pronounced on Van Swieten's benevolence to Mozart's family after his death[ 67 ] have no foundation; in fact, he did nothing worth mentioning for them. In his intercourse with artists, however highly he might estimate them and their works, his demeanour was always that of a grand seigneur, and he enforced his own views with an air of somewhat overbearing superiority. This was again Haydn's experience,[ 68 ] and Mozart can scarcely have escaped some measure of annoyance from the same source.
