Ludwig
van Beethoven (1770-1827), the protagonist of freedom for music,
disentangled music from the control of the ruling class. In publishing
his music and writing for the rising classes, Beethoven claimed freedom
and expressed the emotions of the new rulers, the artists. The Eroica, Fidelio,
and the piano works express the emotions of the new rulers -- the
intense love, the need for companionship of people, the forces that
conspired to defeat the artist, and the strength and superiority of the
artist in overcoming the weaknesses. The letters of Beethoven are the
principal nonmusical expression of his personality in its relationship
with the world of his time.
In what he called the dry letters of the
alphabet, Beethoven depicted his fears, his loves, and his friendly
relations: his fears of deafness and of corrupted texts by pirating
printers; his loves, Bettina Brentano and Giulietta Guicciardi; and his
friendly relations with Baron Zmeskall, Frau Nannette Streicher, and the
music publishers Steiner and Company. He praises the poetry of Goethe
and Schiller but condemns Goethe for his obeisance toward royalty. He
solicits help during his perpetual trouble with his health and with his
servants. He castigates publishers, sets prices for his works, and
calculates letters of dedication. He expresses his love for his nephew,
Carl, but documents the trouble that Carl was causing him by taking up
his precious time. And although Beethoven liked to decorate the letters
with musical openings and closings and an occasional song to the
receiver, he increasingly signed his letters, In haste.
The 457
letters collected here are the most important of the letters of the
spirit that was to shape and move a century. Explanatory notes comment
upon works, on persons mentioned, and on the puns of which Beethoven was
fond. The letters chronicle his business, his needs, his humor and
bitterness, and his philosophy. They will give many insights into
Beethoven's methods, his influences, his moods, and the conditions under
which the master worked.