The op.127 quartet is here performed by the Busch Quartet:

Brandenburg Letter 2152; Anderson Letter 1483. No year is on the letter, but May 4 fell on a Thursday during the time that Karl Holz was working as an unpaid assistant for Beethoven only in 1826. The pension forms in question would be to collect the half of the widow’s pension of Karl’s mother for his upbringing, which Beethoven was entitled to as Karl’s guardian. However, he had waived that requirement since about November 1823, but he still had to collect the funds himself using pension vouchers, and then would turn them over to Johanna each month.

“Heaven knows how it happened, but I couldn’t get hold of a program, so I remained in complete uncertainty about what was to come. Now the bell rang. A maestro took the conductor’s chair. Aha! It will be something big, perhaps the A major [Nr.7] or Pastorale (we are currently enjoying a beautiful May day.) Of course, that can’t really work without reliable direction. Instead, the seventh chord held by classical instruments suddenly rang out, that is, C major [Nr.1.] The second kind of shock, a mild one. Perhaps there will be seven or eight such concerts during the summer, and each one will begin with one of Beethoven’s symphonies. In that case it’s quite right that Nr.1 is played first; after all, it’s still always Beethoven that we hear, and the Allegro stormed off, and I was all ears. The orchestra did its duty under [conductor Karl] Möser’s leadership. The last notes of the movement had barely faded away when the engineer again rang the bell in the theater. What does that mean? Does the man think the symphony is already over?”

“Instead of any answer, the curtain opened and my old friend Haitzinger, surrounded by 19 choristers, presented himself to the drunken eye. Third kind of shock, a great one. Heavens! A program, a program! I called just as anxiously as my neighbor asked for a scent bottle for his lady, who had lost all consciousness at the sight of the choristers dressed in black civilian clothes, whom she was used to see only in Roman or Greek costume. The program came, I read, ‘Grand Italian singing scene, performed etc.’ And so it went on, little bits of the symphony, with some singing in between. Finally, a potpourri by [Ludwig] Spohr.”

“Now only the Rondo-Finale of Beethoven’s work was still missing. The curtain had already fallen and my impatience grew with every second. Finally, finally I heard knocking. God be praised! I looked towards the orchestra, but saw a strange man in front of the conductor’s desk. Has our good Möser fallen ill? But at the moment it started: What? The introduction to a ballet of goats? The fourth kind of shock, a monstrous one, as I rushed out of the house like a madman. People thought I was insane; that was not far off.” The author is Heinrich Ludwig Edmund Dorn (1794-1892), a lawyer, composer and critic who wrote under the pseudonym Nr.4. Although he wrote numerous reviews of Schubert’s lieder, this seems to be the only one of his writings in the BAMZ devoted to Beethoven.

The account of this concert in the Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (Nr.24) at 392 of June 14, 1826 rather more sedately only mentions that a “grand symphony by Beethoven” was performed, as was an Italian opera scene with chorus, by Herr Haizinger, who also performed a duet from Rossini’s Zelmira with Herr Sieber, and with them, Herr Beer and Devrient performed a vocal quartet by Eisenhofer. Finally, there was a Potpourri for violin, on the theme from Jessonda by Spohr. There followed a ballet, Der Zögling der Natur [The Student of Nature], so the comic Berlin account has a good deal of veracity behind it.

Today’s Intelligenzblatt supplement to the Wiener Zeitung (Nr.100) at 655 includes a notice, dated April 19, 1826, stating that because on August 19, 1825, a number of members of the Widows and Orphan’s Institute, some of whom have already been expelled after several warnings, and others (including Franz Schubert) are in arrears and they will have to make their payment no later than July 12, or face the same fate. The notice is repeated in the Intelligenzblatt for May 5 1826 at 672, and May 8, 1826 at 690.

The fifth concert of the London Philharmonic Society is held this evening, with Sir George Smart, who visited Beethoven last September, conducting. The second act of the concert opens with Beethoven’s Sinfonia in C Minor, Nr.5. “The symphony in c minor of Beethoven has often called forth our warmest praise: it is certainly his chef d’oeuvre in this branch of musical composition.” The Harmonicon for June 1826 (Nr.XLII) at 128-129.

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is here performed by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, as part of the 2012 Proms at Royal Albert Hall:

The May, 1826 issue of The Harmonicon (Nr.XLI) includes at 100-101 a foreign musical report from Warsaw that includes a very early mention in England of young Frederic Chopin. The Conservatory there has held a number of concerts, and one devoted to the support of charitable institutions was given by music director Jawurek. “The prominent novelties of the evening were performances on two new instruments. The first was a chorus from Beethoven, accompanied by professor Jawurek on the Choralion, which produced a very striking effect. This instrument has been constructed by M. Brunner of this place, from a design by Professor Hoffmann of our University. Its principal feature consists of metal mouth-pieces, of the nature of the speaking-trumpet, that are affixed to the pipes, which bend exteriorly towards the spectators. The instrument is thus rendered capable of a surprising multiplicity of tones, according to the quantity of wind introduced by means of pedals; its power is increased from the softer tones of the clarinet or oboe, to those of the French horn, and progressively to a burst of trumpets and trombones. In this manner it is able to overpower a whole orchestra of more than sixty instruments in full action, with as many singers, and an organ into the bargain.”

“The next was the allegro movement of Moscheles’s concert in F minor [sic; Concerto Nr.1 in F major, op.45], given with extempore variations by M. Chopin on an instrument called the Aeolopantalon, which combines the united powers of the piano-forte and Aeolomelodikon, and affords a player, who has learnt the management of the variously-combined stops, the power of producing a surprising multiplicity of tone. The performer showed off this singular instrument to great advantage in his variations, which were of the most brilliant and diversified kind, and of a nature to bring into full play all the shades of tone of which his novel instrument is capable. This Concert was honoured by the presence of His Highness Prince Radziwil, himself a distinguished amateur as well as patron of professors, who expressed his approbation of the performances.”

Given the mention of Prince Radziwill, but no other royalty, the language of this report suggests by omission that this must have been a different and later concert from the one featuring Chopin playing the Choralion and Aeolomelodikon that was held in April of 1825. That concert had been attended by Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who reportedly gave Chopin a diamond ring as a reward. The Choralion, which was housed in Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw, was destroyed in World War II.

The Prometheus Overture op.43 is here performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Tomo Keller:

T. Weigl again advertises the two sets of Schubert’s songs, op.56 and 57 in today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.97) at 420, which had been advertised earlier this month, but this time with an added blurb: “Upon the appearance of these latest works by the esteemed composer, it is worth noting that he has primarily focused his attention on eliminating any difficulties in the piano accompaniment.”

Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony is here played by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Kleiber:

“Dear friend!”

“You can be assured that I no longer think about the recent incident at all, and that this will never change my grateful feelings towards you. I therefore ask you not to express anything of the sort in your conduct; you will always be welcome.”

“I hope you will not disdain my table next Sunday. I have too much to do this week, and I have no rest until everything is finished; but then, in such cases, the time for lunch at my table is impossible to determine, as I have always been accustomed to eating very late lunch since I was 13. I was further encouraged in this by respected businessmen here, and it is now difficult to give up this habit entirely. Please do not take this ironically; bear in mind that I depend on the Muse, and you will certainly not disagree with me then; I have long considered a way to express my gratitude to you, which I will put into action as soon as possible. If you have time to visit me this week, it will be a pleasure, if you wish to visit me. You will find me unchanged as usual. I will most certainly expect you on Sunday.”

“As always, your friend Beethoven.”

Brandenburg Letter 2150; Anderson Letter 1482. The original is held in the New York Pierpont Morgan Library (Mary Flagler Cary Music Collection). A draft of the letter in Beethoven’s hand also survives at the Bonn Beethovenhaus, H.C. Bodmer Collection Br 288, which was discussed in the column for Monday, April 24, 1826.

Violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh writes to Beethoven today:

“Most mighty Beethoven,”

“I thank you for yesterday’s reply concerning the Pater Noster Gässchen. Little Tobias only has one copy of this March with Chorus. If I could have duplicates of both this chorus and the Overture, namely the one in C major [the Name Day Overture, op.115, which Haslinger was also about to publish], from you, most noble sir, I most earnestly beg you for them.”

“Your Primo Violino, Schuppanzigh mp” [by his own hand.]

Brandenburg Letter 2151; Albrecht Letter 432. The original of this letter is held by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek (aut.35,62). Schuppanzigh had to present Beethoven’s permission to Haslinger in order to obtain from him the unpublished performance materials for his planned concert in the Augarten on May 11, 1826. The review of the concert in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr.28 at 427 mentions the “newest overture by Beethoven (in C)” was performed. Although Consecration of the House was actually newer, Name Day had not yet been published and was not performed many times at all.

The report from Salzburg at 288 of today’s Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (Nr.17) indicates that the expanded choir is having much success in beautiful church music. “The compositions of Mozart, Jos. and Mich. Hayden, Hummel, Beethoven, and others, are performed with great acclaim. At high performances, the orchestra is accompanied by the very good band of the Imperial Regiment of the Grand Duke of Baden, which also performs in the museum and in the theater.”

The Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung of May 10, 1826 (Nr.19) at 148 includes a report on the sixth subscription concert given today in Herr Jagor’s hall in Berlin by the Bliesener brothers [violinist Jean Emanuel Bliesener (1765-1842), hornist Ernst Bliesener Jr. (c.1770-1842), and clarinetist Friedrich August Bliesener (c.1780-1841)]. The concert opens with Beethoven’s Eroica symphony, “which was received with great applause.” The second part of the concert began with a grand Overture in C major by Beethoven “(performed here for the first time)” [probably also the Name Day Overture, op.115, since the other Beethoven overtures in C had previously been performed in Berlin.] Credit is given to the concert organizers for including this novelty, about which the correspondent “cannot express an opinion after hearing it only once.”