Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/785

BEETHOVEN. several years conscinus of the a miction in store for liim. In a letter to Anienda, in 1800, he begs liini to keep liis deafness 'a profoinul secret,' so he must have been fully under its cloud when lie was only about thirty,

Beethoven as famous as a pianist. He made his debut in Vienna in 1795, with his G major concerto, and ercate<l a great impression; he also played at a benefit concert for Mozart's widow and children. He was, nioreoer, be- ginning to make a great stir as a composer. Omitting his juvenile works, which were not remarkable — Beethoven was not precocious as a composer; his genius unfolded itself slowly — he had completed, among other works, besides the trios alreadj' mentioned, the first set of pianoforte sonatas, the tSoiiata Pathctiqne, the six ipiartets dedicated to Prince von Lobkowitz, and, most im]iortant of all, his Firxt Symphony. Of till' ballet music to I'ronirthcus, which also belongs to this period and had a successful run at the Burg Theatre, it is told that when Haydn praised it Beethoven remarked, "But, lieber 'Papa,' it is far from being a Creation." Haydn was much put out by the remark. "Yes, indeed," was his reply. "And I doubt if its composer ever will produce one." At that time, of course, Haydn was by far the more famous.

The pathetic story is told that Beethoven first realized he was completely deaf when, during a walk in the country with his pupil Ries, the latter pointed to a shepiierd who was playing the "Schalmei." Beethoven could not hear a note. "What humiliation," he wrote in his so-called ^ylJl (a letter to his brothers, dated Octolier 6, 1802), "when some one near me hears the notes of a far-oil' flute or a shepherd's pipe and I do not!" However, his resolution rose superior to his misfortune. "I will grapple with fate ; it shall never drag me down." Hencefortli Bee- thoven's life was a practical application of the letter and spirit of this resolution. It was a life of unremitting industry. Beethoven did not 'shake music out of his sleeves' (as did Schubert, for example) ; everything he composed was care- fully thouglit out and intelleetually tested, as his musical sketch-books show, so that the great number of his works is proof of intense applica- tion as well as of genius.

Considering the pathetic character of his affliction, his productiveness in the years imme- diately following it gives evidence of unsur- passed fortitude. Among the works produced during the five years succeeding his letter to Amenda are the pianoforte sonata with the familiar funeral march, the so-called Moonlight Snnntii (not thus named by Beethoven) ; the Hccund iSymphony ; the Kreutzer t^onata, for piano and violin: the Eroicn fiymphovy (3d), the Wiihlstein and Appassiovnta sonatas, and in ISO.*! his opera, Fid-clio (revised in 1806 and 1814).

The Moonlight Sonata is dedicated to Countess Giulietta Guiceiardi, "who loves me, and whom I love. Unluckily, she is not in my rank of life." This romantic attachment and the chaste beauty of the first movement have caused the name* 'Moonlight' to cling to the composition. Bee- thoven's love aft'airs were by no means few. They include Eleonora von Brcuning. who made woolen comforters for him. but married an- other; Countess Theresa von Braunschweig {'iin- sterhliche (leUebte'}, whom, as a pupil, in 1794, he had rapped over the knuckles, and who be- came engaged to him in 1800, the engagement being broken after four years; Bettina Brentanoj and Jlaric L. Pachler-Koschak, whom "alone I wished to ])ossess, but never shall call mine." Countess lOrdiidy, whom he calls his "confes- sor,' and whom he addressed as 'Dear, dear, dear, dear, dear Countess,' erected a memorial temple to him in her park. The aristocratic women who were his friends make a large list, and no composer's dedications contain so many names familiar in the 'higii life' of his day. As he was unprepossessing in appearance and not infrequently 'a little blunt, not to say uncouth' (Spohr, Autobiography), it must have been by sheer force of his genius that he held sway in the houses of wealth and nobility.

The Eroica, aside from its musical value, is interesting as an index to Beethoven's political views. He was a believer in republican govern- ment; and until 1804, before Najjoleon had made himself Emperor, he represented to Beethoven the ideal soldier and statesman. Beethoven himself entitled this syrai>hony Napoleon liona- parte. and dispatched the original score for pres- entation to Napoleon. But before the presenta- tion could be made, Napoleon had assumed the imperial purjjle. When Beethoven learned of this he tore the title-page from his copy. After Napoleon's death at Saint Helena, lie remarked, "I already have eomi)osed his funeral march," referring to the Marcia Funebre in this sym- phony.

Fidelio was a failure on its first presentation (Vienna, November '20, 1805). The French had entered the city, the singers and the orchestra complained of the difticulty of the music, and for various other reasons the time was unpro- I)itious. After three perfonnances it was with- drawn. The following 3'ear, at Prince Lich- nowski's, Beethoven met by appointment the two singers, Roeckel and Meyer, who suggested, among other changes, the remodeling of the work from three to two acts, its present sha|)e. At first Beethoven was furious, and matters were not settled until 2 o'clock in the morning, when the Prince ordered supper. The most famous Leonora of Beethoven's day was JHle. Schroder (afterwards Schroder-Devrient), whom, after a performance, lie patted on the cheek and prom- ised another opera. Of the four overtures to Fidelio, the Leonora No. 3 is the most famous. Among his compositions in 1806 were the Fourth Symphony and the violin concerto; in 1807 the Coriolanus Orerture and the itass in C; in 1808 both the Fifth and the Sixth (Pas- toral) symphonies. "I am convinced that no one loves country life as I do. Every tree, every shrub seems to miderstahd my mute appeals and responds to them" (Beethoven to Baroness Droszdick). In the garden at Scliiinbrunn is a spot !)etween two ash trees which is carefully preserved because Beethoven haunted it while he was composing parts of Fidelio. He had a passion for the country, and it was fitting he should express it in a symphony.

During this two-symphony year (there was another in 1812, when the Seventh and Eighth symphonies came only four months apart) he received from Napoleon's brother, Jerome, King of Westphalia, an ott'er of the Covirt conductor- ship at Cassel. But in order to keep him in Vienna, an annuity of 4000 florins was provided