As we come into the final few days of our Beethoven: Idealist. Innovator. Icon exhibition, open until Sunday 24 April, we are concluding our series of Beethoven blog posts with a blog dedicated to Beethoven’s legacy.

Join us also for our last events celebrating Beethoven on Friday 22 April at 19.00: Beethoven in concert, with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Bach Choir and on Saturday 23 April at 19.30: Late at the Library: The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble.

Drawing from the rich collection of Beethoven material kept at the Library, the objects on display have given visitors a unique opportunity to experience the composer’s manuscripts, published scores, notebooks, letters, and personal belongings in the flesh. The immediacy of Beethoven’s chaotic handwriting shows his creative imagination at work, his personal notebooks reveal an individual troubled by progressive hearing loss, and his letters show that Beethoven was as much an astute businessman as a composer. But whilst the intimacy of these objects gives us access to Beethoven the individual, it remains difficult to gain a single perspective on the composer.

Beethoven’s image

It is the often-ambiguous image of Beethoven that carries his influence through music, literature, and the visual arts; to frequent adaptations and reinterpretations in popular culture; and that has allowed his music to be appropriated by diverse (often conflicting) political movements since his death. Beethoven’s image was elusive even during his lifetime. Prints of the composer circulated widely in Europe, and likenesses were contested by his contemporaries and even by Beethoven himself. The exhibition features several depictions of Beethoven that show the changing image of the composer in his life, death, and legacy.

The title image of the exhibition recreates a portrait of Beethoven by Carl Jager (1870). The painting was completed over 40 years after Beethoven’s death. It shows a highly Romanticised image of the composer with a thoughtful look and swept-back hair. After its completion, an engraved version was printed and distributed by major publisher Frederick Bruckmann who traded in Berlin, Paris, New York and London.

Johann Peter Lyser’s sheet of Beethoven sketches (1833) include a full-length image of Beethoven in a top hat and coat and one of his head in profile. Although Lyser had never met Beethoven, the lithograph was considered a good likeness and was popular throughout the 19th century. Lyser produced the image from written descriptions of Beethoven but implied its authenticity visually by writing ‘Created after an original drawing’ below the image and including a copy of Beethoven’s signature. The British Library’s copy of the print made its way to England via Ignaz Moscheles, co-director of the Philharmonic Society in London, who included it in his autograph book.

Johann Peter Lyser’s sketches of Beethoven in Ignaz Moscheles’s album. Zweig MS 215, f.7r

One of the most striking moments in the exhibition are the sketches made by Austrian painter and lithographer Josef Teltscher who attended Beethoven at his deathbed. The two images show a rough sketch of the deathbed scene (right) and a touched-up version (left). Teltscher’s depictions sit on the boundary of Beethoven’s life and legacy. The rough sketch on the left shows a stark representation of Beethoven’s death, departing life with fists clenched, hair dishevelled, and face grimaced, whilst on the right we are presented with an image of Beethoven at rest, his softened facial features and pillow detail remarkably peaceful in contrast. Between these two images we see the Romanticisation of Beethoven in process: the immediate observations of the artist’s preliminary sketch followed by the idealised reconstructed image, perhaps ready for reproduction in paint or print.

Josef Teltscher’s sketches of Beethoven on his deathbed. Zweig MS 207, f.1v-2r.

At the centre of the final section of the exhibition on Beethoven’s legacy sits a bust of Beethoven, copied from one sculpted by Johann Nepomuk Schaller (1777-1842). The bust presents the Romantic image of Beethoven in full swing. His swept back hair, classical attire, and piercing look form one of the most recognisable images of the composer today. The bust was donated to the Philharmonic Society in 1870 and has featured at every Society concert since 1871. The Society have adopted this image of Beethoven as 'a symbol of enduring musical excellence', and use the image for their prestigious gold medal.

Plaster bust of Beethoven from one sculpted by Johann Nepomuk Schaller (1777–1842). ©British Library Board, BLWA 43. Photography by Justine Trickett

Since the production of contemporary prints, the deathbed sketch, and Schaller’s iconic bust, Beethoven’s image has become ubiquitous in popular culture, reimagined in the screen prints of Andy Warhol (1987) and in Terry Adkins’ Synapse (2004) as part of his Black Beethoven series.

Legacy section

The legacy section of the exhibition provides a glimpse of the myriad ways Beethoven has influenced art, politics, and popular culture over the past two hundred years. Visitors are invited to contemplate the adoption of Beethoven’s music by a diverse range of political movements, his influence on countless composers, writers, and visual artists, and how his music and image have frequently found their way into popular culture.

A pamphlet of Wartime Songs from the BBC (1944) broadcast to Nazi-occupied France sees Beethoven’s music playing a part in the V for Victory campaign during the Second World War; May Byron’s romanticised fictional account of the composer’s daily life (1910) show his image being adopted into popular literature; Charles Schulz’s yearly celebration of Beethoven’s Birthday in his Peanuts cartoons brought Beethoven to a younger audience; and the Voyager Golden Record sees Beethoven’s music sent drifting out into deep space.

Charles Schulz highlighting Beethoven’s birthday in It’s a Dog’s Life, Charlie Brown. A New Peanuts book (1962). X.429/1504

The ‘Golden Record’ which included the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the ‘Cavatina’ movement from the String Quartet in B flat major (opus 130). 1ss0013021

There are only a few days left to experience this Beethoven material on display, until the exhibition itself becomes part of Beethoven’s legacy. But the items on show only scratch the surface of the Beethoven material available at the library, and readers will be able to explore Beethoven through the rich physical and digital collections that have made this exhibition possible.

Dominic Bridge, Collaborative PhD student, University of Liverpool and British Library

Of the exhibits in our current Beethoven exhibition, no fewer than 12 come from the collection of autograph manuscripts assembled by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, and generously bequeathed to the British Library by his heirs in 1986.

Stefan Zweig by Bassano Ltd. 24 May 1939. NPG x156327 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Stefan Zweig as a collector

Zweig was a keen collector of autographs from an early age and built up one of the finest collections of its kind. He particularly sought out examples which he felt showed the process of creativity in the writers, composers and other historical figures he most admired. Beethoven was certainly one such, and fitted Zweig’s image of the true creative genius, but most of Zweig’s Beethoven material in fact comprised not music manuscripts that show Beethoven the genius composer at work, but items such as letters and notebooks that shed light on Beethoven the man.

This was no doubt in part because Zweig had an equally wealthy and eager rival when it came to collecting Beethoveniana, the Swiss bibliophile Martin Bodmer, but Zweig also had a liking for ‘relics’ of great men as well as actual examples of their work. One of his happiest moments as a collector came in 1929 when he was able to purchase Beethoven’s writing-desk and various other realia once belonging to the composer, such as a lock of hair, a violin and even a compass, from the descendants of Beethoven’s friend Stephan von Breuning. (These were later acquired by Bodmer and are now in the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.)

Exhibits from the Zweig collection in the Beethoven exhibition

Two of the items from the BL Zweig manuscripts currently on display show a very humdrum side of Beethoven’s life: a laundry list and a page of kitchen accounts. The latter gives a glimpse into Beethoven’s diet: a lot of meat, bread and potatoes, spiced with mustard and horseradish, and washed down with wine and rum. Vegetables do feature, but usually lumped together as ‘Zuhspeis’ (literally a ‘side-dish’). Perhaps this was one of the reasons for his frequent ill health, referred to with a dash of self-deprecating humour in a letter of 1817 inviting his friend Johann Bihler to visit and mentioning that ‘Dr Sassafras’ will also be in attendance – a reference to the diuretic sassafras root.

A page from Beethoven’s kitchen accounts. British Library Zweig MS 209, f.1r

Other items show more ‘elevated’ aspects of Beethoven’s life. A notebook from the early 1790s lists expenses from his first months in Vienna, including a series of composition lessons with Joseph Haydn, the main reason he had come to the city. Another collection of notes from 1815 contains transcriptions of poems by Johann Gottfried Herder with some snatches of music and some reflections on nature by Beethoven. By this time Beethoven’s loss of hearing loss was very advanced, but he writes that this seems not to trouble him in the countryside and that “every tree seems to speak to me, saying ‘Holy! Holy!’” Despite a number of health and personal problems at this time, another piece from 1815 strikes a similar note of optimism: a short three-part canon written in the autograph album of fellow-composer Ludwig Spohr sets words from a play by Friedrich Schiller, “Kurz ist der Schmerz und ewig ist die Freude” (“Pain is brief and joy is eternal”).

Beethoven’s three-part canon in Spohr’s autograph album. British Library Zweig MS 11, f. 1r

Beethoven’s admiration for Schiller’s work would culminate of course in the setting of the ‘Ode to Joy’ in his Ninth Symphony, but he also set works by the other literary giant of the age, Goethe. Zweig was particularly pleased to acquire the manuscript of the song ‘Die Trommel gerühret’ (‘The drum is beaten’) from Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s play Egmont as it combined the work of both men. In the play the song is sung by Egmont’s mistress Clärchen, who dreams of dressing as a soldier to follow her beloved to war. It is one of the pieces that forms the soundtrack to the exhibition, along with another work owned in manuscript by Zweig and on display, the 1808 Sonata for Piano and Cello in A major.

Beethoven’s initial musical ideas for the song ‘Die Trommel gerühret’ (op. 84 no. 1), sung by the character of Clärchen in his music for Goethe’s play Egmont. British Library Zweig MS 8, f.1r

The last Zweig items displayed relate to Beethoven’s death and funeral. A book of sketches by Josef Teltscher includes two studies of the composer on his deathbed. Teltscher was in attendance and his moving images of an exhausted Beethoven are no doubt more realistic that the legend that Beethoven died shaking a fist in defiance. A list of expenses for Beethoven’s funeral shows what a costly affair it was, with details of money spent to pay the priests and to provide candles and roses. It was one of the most lavish funerals ever granted to a commoner in Vienna and the streets were packed with onlookers. Access to the service was by invitation only; the invitation on display is thought to have belonged to Stefan von Breuning. Finally there is a list of donors to a fund to help Beethoven’s servants after his death, something that brings us back to the household accounts and laundry list and reminds us of the people behind them who ran Beethoven’s various households in Vienna.

Drawing of Beethoven on his deathbed by the artist Josef Teltscher. British Library Zweig MS 207, f.1v

Some of Zweig’s contemporaries – and more recent critics – may have been cynical about the relic-hunting aspect of Zweig’s collecting, something nowhere more obvious than in his Beethoven holdings. But these items can help us to see a more rounded picture of Beethoven and his world rather than just the genius at work.

Susan Reed, Lead Curator Germanic Collections

References/further reading:

Arthur Searle, The British Library Stefan Zweig Collection: Catalogue of the Music Manuscripts (London, 1999).

Oliver Matuschek (ed.), Ich kenne den Zauber der Schrift: Katalog und Geschichte der Autographensammlung Stefan Zweig, mit kommentiertem Abdruck von Stefan Zweigs Aufsätzen über das Sammeln von Handschriften (Vienna, 2005).

Oliver Matuschek, Three Lives: a Biography of Stefan Zweig (London, 2011).

Michael Ladenburger, Das “kollektive Sammler-Empfinden”: Stefan Zweig als Sammler und Vermittler von Beethoveniana: Begleitbuch zu einer Ausstellung des Beethoven-Hauses Bonn, 12. Mai-4. Oktober 2015 (Bonn, [2015]) (A brief PDF guide to the exhibition that this book accompanied can be found here:)

Next week we are proud to host cellist Adrian Brendel and pianist Simon Callaghan as they perform Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas at the Knowledge Centre (Thu 31 Mar 2022, 19:30 - 21:00). To mark the occasion, this blog explores through our collections Beethoven’s collaborations with eminent cellists during his life who inspired and helped to shape aspects of these works.

Beethoven composed five sonatas for cello and piano, between 1796 (op. 5 nos. 1–2) and 1815 (op. 102 nos. 1–2). One of the collection items in our current Beethoven: Idealist, Innovator, Icon exhibition are sketches for his third cello sonata, the op. 69 in A major, considered a masterpiece in the genre (Zweig MS 6).

The sonata, entitled Grande Sonate pour Pianoforte et Violoncelle, was composed in 1808, in the year when Beethoven was also working on his Fifth and Sixth symphonies. The sketches in Zweig MS 6 are for the third and fourth movements, and are mostly written on single staves with piano or ‘cello indicated above at relevant points.

Beethoven’s sketches for his Cello Sonata op. 69. Zweig MS 6 f.1v

Beethoven dedicated the sonata to his close friend and supporter Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein (1778–1828) who was also an amateur cellist. The sonata was first performed by the cellist Nikolaus Kraft and pianist Dorothea von Ertmann (1781-1849), who was a pupil of Beethoven, in March 1809.

Nikolaus Kraft

Nikolaus Kraft (1778-1853) was the eldest son of the cellist Anton Kraft (1749-1820). In 1801 he travelled to Berlin together with his father where he received cello lessons for one year from the virtuoso cellist Jean-Louis Duport (1749-1819), who was employed there at the Prussian court of King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Nikolaus, as well as his father, was also for a time a member of the Schuppanzigh string quartet – named after its founder the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh (1776-1830) – which gave a number of first performances of Beethoven’s string quartets.

The Krafts were not the only cellists with whom Beethoven worked during his life. In spring of 1796 Beethoven visited the Prussian court in Berlin, where he also met Jean-Louis Duport, and it was there that his op. 5 cello sonatas originated. These sonatas are regarded today as the first ‘true’ sonatas for cello and piano, as the two instruments are given equal importance.

Jean-Louis Duport

Jean-Louis Duport was one of the most influential cellists of his time. In the early 19th century he published a violoncello treatise entitled: Essai sur le doigté du violoncelle et sur la conduite de l’archet (Essay on fingering the violoncello and on the conduct of the bow) (Paris, 1806). This became one of the most influential cello treatises in the history of the cello; the exercises (Études) that are included in it are still practised by cello pupils today. An English translation by John Bishop (1817-1890) was published in London in 1853:

Title page of John Bishop’s translation of Jean-Louis Duport’s Essai. British Library h.1124.

At the time of Beethoven’s visit, Jean-Louis Duport was principal cellist in the opera orchestra and, together with his brother the virtuoso cellist Jean-Pierre Duport (1741-1818), also instructed the king on the cello. Several cello parts in the king’s music collection – now at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – include fingerings and other performance annotations marked in red crayon, which are probably in the hand of Jean-Louis Duport or his brother, such as in the first violoncello part of Luigi Boccherini’s string quintet op. 31 no. 5.

Beethoven and Jean-Louis Duport performed his op. 5 cello sonatas for the king, and apparently, Beethoven also intended to dedicate the two sonatas to him. This is evident from a letter, now lost, which Duport sent to him where he wrote: ‘Duport, acknowledges the dedication to him of Beethoven’s two sonatas for piano and violoncello and expresses the wish to play them with the composer’.[i]

In the end the op. 5 cello sonatas were dedicated to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II. This was not the only occasion where Beethoven would change his mind about the dedication of a particular work. He had also originally dedicated his Violin Sonata op. 47, the ‘Kreutzer’, to the British violinist George Bridgetower (1778-1860) before changing the dedication to the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831). These initial gestures, however, show an appreciation of the musicians Beethoven worked with, and an intent to acknowledge them.

No autographs of the op. 5 cello sonatas survive but the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany (Add MS 29801) –  selected leaves from which are also on display in the exhibition – includes a number of sketches for the two op. 5 cello sonatas, revealing Beethoven’s compositional processes and initial ideas for these.

Sketches for Beethoven’s Cello Sonata op. 5 no. 1 in the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany. Allegro movement. Add MS 29801, f. 83v

In Beethoven’s ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany scholars have also noted a leaf where Beethoven wrote ‘Billet an duport Morgen frühe’ (note to Duport tomorrow morning) (f. 57v) and on another leaf, in a different hand, what appears to be scales and double stops with fingerings for the violoncello (f. 109r).[ii] These resemble fingering patterns in Duport’s Essai, which has lead scholars to assume that these could be in the hand of Jean-Louis Duport himself, or possibly his brother.[iii] No autographs of Jean-Louis Duport’s compositions are known to survive which would allow a comparison of his musical handwriting with the exercises in the ‘Kafka’ sketchbook, apart from some letters in his hand at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which however don’t include any music notation.

Scales and double stops with fingerings for the violoncello in the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany. Add MS 29801, f. 109r.

Fingerings for scales and double stops in Duport’s Essay on fingering the violoncello and on the conduct of the bow. British Library h.1124. pp. 12 and 60 respectively.

Beethoven was not the only composer to have been influenced by the techniques of the Duport brothers. Several years before Beethoven’s visit, in spring of 1789, Mozart had visited the Prussian court of King Friedrich Wilhelm II for whom he began composing a set of string quartets, which later became known as the ‘Prussian’ quartets (K 575, K 589, K 590). In the autograph of the first of the ‘Prussian’ string quartets we find solo passages for the cello in the high register of the instrument. These are furthermore written in the treble clef as was the customary, French notation style that the Duport brothers adopted at the Prussian court for writing for the cello in that register, as opposed to the Italian notation style of using movable ‘C’ clefs.[iv]

Solo passages in the violoncello part in Mozart’s ‘Prussian’ quartet in D Major K 575. Add MS 37765 f 1v.

Joseph Linke

That fact that Beethoven worked closely with cellists throughout his life is further documented in a note that he sent to the cellist Joseph Linke (1783-1837), who, like the Krafts, was for a period a cellist in the Schuppanzigh string quartet and for whom Beethoven composed his op. 102 cello sonatas. In 1814 Beethoven wrote to him: ‘Dear Linke, Do me the favour of breakfasting with me tomorrow morning, as early as you like, but not later than half past seven. Bring a cello bow, for I have something to discuss with you.’[v]

The sketches of Beethoven’s cello sonatas and related archival documents reveal his openness in learning new instrumental techniques and his engagement and collaboration with eminent performers of his time, who influenced and helped to shape aspects of these works.

The concert on Thursday 31 March with Adrian Brendel, cello, and Simon Callaghan, piano will include a performance of Beethoven’s cello sonatas op. 5 no. 2 and op. 69.

References and further reading

[i] Theodore Albrecht, Letters to Beethoven and other Correspondence (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996), vol.1, pp. 52-53.

[ii] Lewis Lockwood, ‘Beethoven’s early works for violoncello and contemporary violoncello technique’, Beiträge ’76-78: Beethoven Kolloquium 1977. Dokumentation und Auffürungspraxis (Kassel, 1978), pp. 174-182.

[iii] Lewis Lockwood, ‘Beethoven’s early works for violoncello and contemporary violoncello technique’, Beiträge ’76-78: Beethoven Kolloquium 1977. Dokumentation und Auffürungspraxis (Kassel, 1978), pp. 176, 181.

[iv] Valerie Walden, One Hundred Years of Violoncello: a history of technique and performance practice, 1740-1840 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 74-78.

[v] Emily Anderson, The Letters of Beethoven (London: Macmillan Press, 1961), vol.1 no.515, pp. 482.

Loukia Drosopoulou, ‘Music copyists at the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia’ Jahrbuch des Staatlichen Instituts für Musikforschung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (2013), pp. 277-311.

Joseph Kerman (ed.), Autograph miscellany from circa 1786 to 1799: British Museum Additional Manuscript 29801, ff. 39-162 (The Kafka sketchbook) (London: British Museum, 1970).

Alan Tyson, ‘New light on Mozart’s ‘Prussian’ Quartets’, The Musical Times, 116 no. 1584 (1975), pp. 126-130.

Dr Loukia Drosopoulou, Curator, Music

We are pleased to announce a number of new additions to our Music e-resources offer this year:

Medici.TV

Medici.TV is a world-leading classical music channel, offering access to live performances and classical music programmes to viewers worldwide. More than 150 live events are broadcast each year, in partnership with the world's most prestigious venues, opera houses, festivals and competitions. Their platform also features over 3,000 programmes, including: concerts and archived historical concerts; operas; ballets; documentaries, artist portraits; educational programmes and masterclasses, which are available to stream in HD.

Medici.TV is currently available in our reading rooms and can be accessed via the Find Electronic Resources webpage.

RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals (Full text) and RIPM Preservation Series: European & North American Music Periodicals (Full text)

RIPM (Répertoire international de la presse musicale) offers online access to thousands of European and North American music periodicals from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century. This includes articles in music journals, daily newspapers, literary periodicals, theatrical journals, and magazines, constituting a remarkable documentary resource to music historians.

We now subscribe to the full-text versions of both RIPM Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals and RIPM Preservation Series: European & North American Music Periodicals, which can both be accessed in our reading rooms via the Find Electronic Resources webpage.

Music Online: Classical Scores Library Volumes I-IV

This multivolume series contains more than 53,000 titles of the most important scores in classical music, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. More than 4,600 composers are included, from traditionally studied composers such as Mozart and Tchaikovsky to contemporary artists including Kaija Saariaho, Peter Maxwell-Davies, and John Tavener.

Music Online: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

Music Online: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music is the first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than 9,000 pages of material and 300 audio recordings, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.

 

 

Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries

Music Online: Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries is the largest and most comprehensive streaming audio collection of world music. With nearly 3,000 albums and more than 40,000 individual tracks of music, spoken word, and natural and human made sounds, this collection includes the published recordings owned by the non profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label together with the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels.

You can browse the full range of Music e-resources available in our reading rooms and/or remotely via the Find Electronic Resources webpage:

For any enquiries on how to access and use our e-resources please contact our Music or Sound & Vision Reference Teams.

We’ve had two very exciting additions to our Beethoven exhibition recently, in the form of loans from the Music Department and Mendelssohn Archive of the Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

With a big drumroll…

We are thrilled to announce that the autograph manuscript of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has arrived – its first time in the UK. The piece is often thought to be among Beethoven’s greatest achievements and, with its famous ‘Ode to Joy’ movement, one of his most immediately recognisable works. Its arrival in the UK is especially significant as the piece was first commissioned by the Philharmonic Society in London. It is even more of a privilege that the manuscript has been lent for the exhibition, since it became the first musical score to be added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Autograph score of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, p. 89. Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v. 2; Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v., Artaria 204. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv.

The first complete score

The autograph score from Berlin represents the first complete manuscript of the symphony, committed to paper by Beethoven between 1822 and 1824. The pages on display show a climactic passage in the final part of the setting of the ‘Ode to Joy’, a poem by Friedrich Schiller celebrating universal friendship and equality.

How does it relate to London and the exhibition?

In November 1822 the Directors of the Philharmonic Society in London decided to offer Beethoven £50 for a new symphony for their season the next year: this was to become the Ninth. The minute books from that meeting are among the objects in the exhibition showing some of the realities behind the creation of famous works of art – a receipt, signed by Beethoven for his £50 fee, is another one. 

Minutes of the Directors of the Philharmonic Society, agreeing to offer Beethoven £50 for a new symphony. British Library RPS MS 280, f.2.

The commission was supposed to have given the Philharmonic Society the premiere of the new work and exclusive rights for 18 months after, but Beethoven in fact arranged for the first and second performances of the piece to be held in Vienna in May 1824.

A neat manuscript, prepared by copyists under Beethoven’s supervision and incorporating some changes in his hand was sent to London in fulfilment of the commission at some point in 1824, probably after those first Vienna performances. This, a star item from the Royal Philharmonic Society Archive, acquired by the British Library in 2002, is also on display in the exhibition: the first time the two manuscripts will have been side by side since 1824.

Side-by-side, the autograph manuscript of the Ninth Symphony together with the copy sent to the Philharmonic Society. On the left: Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v. 2; Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v., Artaria 204. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv, p. 89, and on the right: British Library, RPS MS 5, f. 143r.

Conversing with Beethoven

Another artefact on loan from Berlin, of no less significance in telling the story of Beethoven’s life, is one of the composer’s conversation books. By 1818 Beethoven’s hearing had deteriorated to such an extent that he carried with him a ‘conversation book’ so that his companions could write down their contribution to the dialogue. Beethoven normally replied verbally, so only one side of the conversation survives in most cases. The book on display dates from April 1824, with several visitors giving insights into an assortment of unconnected and unremarkable issues from Beethoven’s daily life. However, a musical excerpt in the composer’s hand appears on one of the pages on display, showing him explaining that the emphasis in the final line of the ‘Ode to Joy’ should be on the word ‘Sternen’ (‘stars’).

A page from Konversationheft 61, on loan to the British Library from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv. Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v. 51,59.

Persistent URL to digitised content: http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB00022DB400000000

Beethoven’s hearing loss

The conversation book joins several other items in the exhibition that help to illustrate Beethoven’s struggles with increasing deafness through his life. This theme is reflected in some of his own writings, in the accounts of people who met him and in a specially-created installation that allows visitors to experience Beethoven’s music through vibrations and visualisation.

Visit the exhibition!

Both loans had had to be postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions that were implemented before the opening of the exhibition in December 2021. Happily though, the loan has now been able to go ahead. With the exhibition open until Sunday 24 April, we hope as many people as possible get to see these iconic manuscripts from Berlin, alongside the diverse and surprising range of scores, letters and other artefacts from the British Library’s own collections.

Inside the British Library Beethoven: Idealist. Innovator. Icon exhibition. Photo by Chris Scobie.

Chris Scobie, Lead Curator, Music Manuscripts

In this blog post we look at a recent conservation project involving an important Beethoven manuscript known as the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany (Add MS 29801).

How did the manuscript come to be in the British Library?

The manuscript’s name comes from its previous owner, Johann Nepomuk Kafka (1819-1886), an Austrian pianist, composer and manuscript collector.

The British Museum bought it, together with a manuscript of Beethoven’s cadenza for the last movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor and some scores by Franz Schubert and Gioachino Rossini, in 1875 for a total of £323.

A page from the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany, Add MS 29801, f. 88r

What is contained in the volume?

Although the ‘Kafka’ volume is sometimes referred to as a sketchbook, that is only really true of the first 37 folios, which would have originally formed a bound entity in their own right. This section dates from about 1811 and shows the in-demand Beethoven at work on music for the play Die Ruinen von Athen (‘The Ruins of Athens’) – now most famous for its overture and ‘turkish’ march.

Sketches for Beethoven’s music for the play ‘The Ruins of Athens’, Add MS 29801, f. 8r

The rest of the volume (ff. 39-165) is actually something of a jumble. The earliest of these pages date from about 1781 when Beethoven was just 11 years old. There are also examples from throughout his early life, charting his formative years, his move from Bonn to Vienna in 1792, and the period following that when he was busy establishing a name for himself.

Beethoven probably kept leaves like this unbound, perhaps revisiting them at different points in his life. It seems unlikely that he kept them in any kind of consistent order, but even if he had, they are unlikely to have retained it after his death. There was a lively market for manuscripts and mementos of the composer through the 19th century, and such relics changed hands frequently – often, sadly, with the result of related pages being separated and scattered among different owners.

An opening of Add MS 29801, showing leaves mounted on guards. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

This particular bundle of miscellaneous leaves were brought together with the 1811 sketchbook into a composite volume at some point after Beethoven’s death, with each individual folio eventually mounted on a small stub of paper (known as a guard) and bound together.

The contents of these pages range from relatively neat drafts of complete pieces – like this movement of a sonatina for mandolin and piano – to barely legible scribbles, capturing ideas quickly in a burst of inspiration.

A folio showing Beethoven developing ideas for an uncompleted song in C major, Add MS 29801, f. 46v.

Many examples show initial musical ideas being worked over and over, developed on the page. Sometimes these ideas came to nothing, but other times they ended up as pieces we know today.

Beethoven’s creative process, and how it is reflected on paper, has been the subject of a lot of discussion over the years, but there is a useful introduction by Barry Cooper.

What was the conservation journey of the ‘Kafka’ volume?

The ‘Kafka’ volume was flagged for conservation attention in 2019 due to a number of pages displaying wear and tear along the edges. Of particular concern was the potential loss of Beethoven’s annotations at the extremities of sometimes fragile and weakening paper.

What were the challenges?

The range of different paper and ink types in the volume, as well as the jumbled nature of the contents, presented a varied situation though, and meant that careful consideration and close collaboration between curators and conservators was important. Whatever we did needed to balance a respect for the object and its history with long-term preservation needs.

The general approach to treatment was to make the volume fit for purpose but with minimal intervention. So, we took a targeted approach, retaining the structure of the object but identifying vulnerable leaves where the paper was particularly weak or worn at the edges, or where text was in danger of being gradually worn away.

Vulnerable and exposed paper at the fore-edge of the volume. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

A fragile leaf on removal from its guard, prior to repair work. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

Another factor we considered was how the volume is used, both now and in the future. It had already been digitised, and a facsimile and transcription of the contents were published in the 1970s, and these have helped reduce the number of times the volume is handled for study.

What’s next for this iconic manuscript?

As an iconic manuscript in public ownership, it is something that we want to be able to display periodically, both at the British Library and occasionally on loan to other institutions.

Given the disparate content there are many possibilities as to what might be chosen to be exhibited. The fact that the manuscript is bound means either displaying the whole volume or else needing to lift individual leaves from the guards. The latter is certainly possible, but not something to be undertaken regularly or repeatedly. In prioritising leaves for conservation work, we took into account the likelihood of use in future displays.

Work in progress – inside the British Library Conservation Centre. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

As well as some small paper repairs to support areas of fragile ink and small tears to the edges of some folia, the main solution was to remove the identified leaves from the original guards and hinge them onto a sheet of archival handmade paper with fine Japanese tissue.

Add MS 29801 after work to create support pages. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

Detail showing the new support pages. Photograph by Zoë Miller.

This both helps to reduce direct handling of the manuscript pages and to create a buffer between the inks, which themselves can have a deteriorating effect over time. Additionally, this treatment will help make it easier for particular folios to be removed from the volume for display without damage or disruption in a sufficiently stable condition to withstand transport and display requirements.

Finally, a custom–made drop back box was constructed to better support the volume while in storage, providing a buffer against the environment and a safe way to transport it.

This conservation work was undertaken with generous support from the Idlewild Trust and has meant that several leaves from this unique volume are now on display in our exhibition Beethoven: Idealist. Innovator. Icon. – open until Sunday 24 April 2022.

Selected pages of this volume are also featured on our Discovering Music webspace, where you can find out more about it – and images of all 162 folios are available to view up on Digitised Manuscripts.

Inside the British Library Beethoven exhibition. Image credit: Justine Trickett

 

Zoë Miller, Conservation Team Leader

Chris Scobie, Lead Curator, Music Manuscripts

Our Beethoven exhibition draws on the British Library’s rich collection of Beethoven material to reflect on the composer’s creativity, his struggles, and the impact and legacy that he has left to future generations. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to see a wide range of Beethoven material together and up close.

To mark the occasion, this blog post draws together all the digitised Beethoven sources that are freely available via the British Library website.

Inside the Beethoven exhibition at the British Library. Credit: Justine Trickett

Autograph scores and sketches

Central to the exhibition, and the British Library’s Beethoven collections, are the autograph scores and sketches for works from across the composer’s life. These include collections of miscellaneous loose pages, later bound together, as in the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany (named after a previous owner, Johann Nepomuk Kafka, 1819-1886) which includes a draft for an early symphonic movement in C minor.

Draft for an early symphony in C minor. British Library Add MS 29801, f. 70v.

There are also examples of the bound sketchbooks that Beethoven used from 1798 onwards, mostly dedicated to specific works, such as the one for The Ruins of Athens, found at the front of the ‘Kafka’ miscellany (ff. 1-37). A particularly magnificent example is the sketchbook for the ‘Pastoral’ symphony, which also includes ideas for the op. 70 piano trios, among other things. Also featured are finished scores of complete pieces, such as the op. 30 no. 3 violin sonata and various songs.

• Add MS 29801, the ‘Kafka’ sketch miscellany: 124 leaves of sketches for works composed in the period 1782 to 1798, with a sketchbook for The Ruins of Athens bound at the front. Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Add MS 29803, ff. 1-2v. Cadenza for the rondo of Mozart’s piano concerto no. 20 in D minor, WoO 58. Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Add MS 29997. Miscellaneous sketches, including material for the String Quartet in C sharp minor, op. 131 (1826). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.  
• Add MS 31766. Sketchbook for the Pastoral Symphony and other works (1808). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Add MS 37767. Violin Sonata in G major, op. 30 no. 3 (1801-2). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.

The opening movement of Beethoven’s sonata for violin and piano in G major, op. 30 no 3. British Library Add MS 37767, f. 1r

• Add MS 38069, f. 8. Three-part canon, ‘Ars vita, longa brevis’, WoO 192 (1825).
• Add MS 38070, ff. 51-52. Sketch for the andante of the String Quartet in C sharp minor, op. 131 (1826).
• Add MS 47852, f. 2. Two staves only from the top of page of sketches. The verso relates to the finale of the string quartet op. 39 no. 1 (1806).
• Add MS 47852, ff. 4-11. Lied, Gesang aus der Ferne, WoO 137, words by Christian Ludwig Reissig (1809).
• Add MS 47852, ff. 12-17. Lied, Der Liebende, WoO 139, words by Christian Ludwig Reissig (1809).
• Egerton MS 2327. Variations on National Airs, op. 105/107. Twelve themes copied out by Beethoven, with his sketches for some variations (1818).
• Egerton MS 2795. Pocket sketchbook mainly for the String Quartet in B flat, op. 130 (1825). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Zweig MS 6. Sonata in A major for cello and piano, op. 69: sketches for movements 3 and 4 (1808). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Zweig MS 8. Sketches for Clärchen’s song ‘Die Trommel gerühret’ from the Incidental music for Egmont, op. 84 no. 1 (1809-10). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Zweig MS 9. Incidental music to Kotzebue’s play Die Ruinen von Athen, op. 113: off-stage music for wind band only (1811).
• Zweig MS 10. Lied, 'Der Kuss', op. 128, words by Christian Felix Weiße (1822).
• Zweig MS 11. Three-part canon ‘Kurz ist der Schmerz’ from Schiller’s Die Jungfrau von Orleans, WoO 166 (1815).

Manuscript of Beethoven’s song, ‘Der Kuss’, op. 128. British Library Zweig MS 10, f. 1r.

Musical sources with Beethoven’s annotations and corrections

Three items here are sources, either printed scores or copyist manuscripts, with annotations and corrections in the composer’s hand. These include Beethoven’s own copy of his very early piano sonatas and a score of the violin concerto sent to London for publication in a version for piano and orchestra. You can find out more about this manuscript in this blog post.

• Add MS 41630, ff. 1-41. Piano solo part of the Triple Concerto, op. 56 (1807).
• Add MS 41631. Beethoven’s copy of the first edition of the piano sonatas, WoO 47, with his fingerings (1783). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.
• Add MS 47851. Viennese manuscript copy of the Violin Concerto in D major, op. 61, arranged for piano and orchestra (1807). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.

Beethoven’s early piano sonatas, WoO 47, published in 1783. British Library Add MS 41631, f. 2r.

Autograph documents

The collection of the Austrian writer and collection, Stefan Zweig, contains many documents that show us something of the human side of Beethoven’s life – from the humdrum, such as food and laundry lists, to letters, poetical reflections on nature, and even a moving sketch of the composer on his deathbed.

• Zweig MS 13. Letter to Dr Johann Bihler, April 1817.
• Zweig MS 14. Beethoven’s Memorandum Book, 1792.
• Zweig MS 15. Copies by Beethoven of the text of five poems from ‘Morgenländische Blumenlese’ by Johann Gottfried Herder, with brief observations on nature by Beethoven (1815?). Find out more about this on our Discovering Music site.

Copies by Beethoven of the text of five poems from ‘Morgenländische Blumenlese’ by Johann Gottfried Herder, with brief observations on nature by Beethoven (1815?). British Library Zweig MS 15.

• Zweig MS 30. Drawing of Beethoven on his deathbed by Josef Danhauser (1827).
• Zweig MS 207. Drawing of Beethoven on his deathbed by the artist Josef Teltscher (1827).
• Zweig MS 208. Letter to Stephan von Breuning between 1805 and May 1813.
• Zweig MS 209. Beethoven’s kitchen accounts (before 1827).
• Zweig MS 210. Beethoven’s last laundry list (1827).
• Zweig MS 213. List of those contributing to a collection for Beethoven’s servants after his death, with receipts from two servants (1827).

Printed music

Over 200 published editions of Beethoven’s music are also available online, with around 80 dating from the composer’s lifetime. These can be searched in the main online catalogue at http://explore.bl.uk, and using the filter options to select the ‘Online’ viewing option.

Piano part for the Piano Trio in B flat major, op. 97, 1st movement. British Library Tyson PM.49.(2).

You can also visit our Discovering Music pages, which feature further articles, people pages and collection items relating to Beethoven.

Our Beethoven exhibition is open until 24 April 2022. During the festive season our hours vary, so please check our opening times before you visit. Everyone must wear a face covering while they’re here, and we’re working really hard to keep everyone safe.

Chris Scobie, Lead Curator, Music Manuscripts

Introduction

In the first part of this blog, it was established that a particular sub-collection of Italian manuscript editions present in the Royal Music Library are likely to have been acquired in Italy by members of the Cawdor family in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. How did this personal collection become part of the Royal Music Library today?

The Concert of Antient Music

The story continues with the musical pursuits of John Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor (1790-1860), who, in addition to creating an impressive personal music library, was a member of the ‘Concert of Antient Music’, also known as the ‘Ancient Concerts' or ‘The King's Concerts’. This influential London concert series ran between 1776 and 1848, and was one of several musical clubs and societies in the late 18th century devoted to performing exclusively ‘ancient music’.[1]

To some extent, series like the Concert of Antient Music represented a reaction against the fashion for the melody-driven music of the early Classical period, and indeed, any work performed at their concerts had to be more than 25 years old. The fact that John Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor, was heavily involved with this series is significant, for it was linked, explicitly from 1785, to the musical circle of traditional nobility surrounding the monarch, and is described by McVeigh 'almost as a court activity'.[2] This was particularly the case from 1785, after which date George III regularly attended the society’s concerts, and influenced their programming.

It is unsurprising that George III became personally involved in the performance of ‘ancient’ music: he was known for his ‘old-fashioned’ musical tastes, preferring the works of Handel to newer, galant works by composers such as Johann Christian Bach, his wife’s music master. The British Library holds a number of programmes written in his hand, revealing his music choice for performances held at Windsor Castle.[3]

Notably, the Concert of Antient Music sourced unusual works from Europe for performance in London, and in such a way built up a substantial library of printed and manuscript works.[4] It is possible that John Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor, as one of the directors of the Concert in the 1840s, was partly responsible for the maintenance of this library. In 1844, Cawdor directed the sixth concert of the year, conducted by Henry Bishop, which was recorded in detail in the Musical Examiner. [5] The first item in the programme was Jommelli’s Te Deum, a work which is present in manuscript (albeit in a different binding style) in the Royal Music Library.[6]

It is possible that at some point between 1817 and the 1840s, the Cawdors’ personal music collection became practically linked with that of the Concert, as the first Earl became more involved. A small number of individual editions bound in these volumes bear the initials ‘T.G.’, presumed to be Thomas Greatorex, the conductor of the concerts from 1793 until his death in 1831. Cawdor may very well have been gifted these by Greatorex, or acquired from him upon his death. Certainly, music belonging to at least two members of the Concert of Antient Music must have been absorbed into this collection and subsequently bound together.

Title page for an Aria by Domenico Cimarosa with the inscription ‘Cawdor’ at the top. British Library R.M.22.b.17.(1.)

 

Title page for an Aria by J.C. Bach with the initials ‘T G’ at the top thought to stand for Thomas Greatorex. British Library R.M.23.d.5.(11.)

Prince Albert, the Concert’s Last Director

Another keen member of the Concert of Antient Music was Prince Albert himself, who became the series’ final director before it folded in 1848.

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Replica by Franz Xaver Winterhalter 1867, based on a work of 1859. © National Portrait Gallery, London.

Albert directed several concerts during the 1840s, including one on 16th April 1845, in which a significant amount of ‘ancient’ music was performed. Queen Victoria, aged 25, recorded her response to the concert programme in her journal:

It was a beautiful Concert, full of curious productions of old world music. My beloved Albert has such exquisite taste and takes such pains in collecting rare and curious, as beautiful pieces of music. There was a Concert of the date of 1600 by an Italian, Emilio del Cavaliere… which was performed on all the ancient instruments of those days, and this was very curious, and the effect very pleasant. A ‘Romanesca’ of the 15th Century was played on the same instruments and was very simple and beautiful.[7]

Not everyone enjoyed the timbre of the Prince Albert’s collection of old instruments: The Musical World expressed derision typical of the period, describing the sonic effect as that ‘of a tooth comb, covered with paper, blown upon with the breath…’[8] Nonetheless both accounts attest to Prince Albert’s personal interest in music of previous centuries. Indeed, for this concert, Albert sourced a viola da gamba, an instrument now held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, though it is unclear to what extent players of this period used historical performance techniques.[9]

Indeed, his personal dedication to the series is borne out by his 1875 biographer, Sir Theodore Martin, who declared that, “The Prince made the selection of music for these performances themselves a never-failing source of delight. As every year brought a heavier strain upon his thoughts and energies, his pleasure in them appeared to increase. They seemed to take him into a dream-world, in which the anxieties of life were for the moment forgotten.”[10] Given his musical interests, and his position as director of the series until 1848, it is not at all surprising that Prince Albert acquired the extensive library of the Concert of Antient Music, which was moved in the same year to Buckingham Palace. 

Yet the Cawdor manuscript volumes do not appear to have been explicitly part of the Concert’s library, which was presented to the Royal College of Music in 1883 by Queen Victoria, forming one of its founding collections. Furthermore, despite similarities in content, (the Concert’s library also contains Italian 18th-century manuscripts), a brief comparison with bindings held there has confirmed that these volumes bear no visual resemblance to volumes in the Concert’s library, and do not appear in its 1791 catalogue.

Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to assume that these volumes, alongside others acquired by Prince Albert, were moved to Buckingham Palace in 1848 as part of his personal collection. Unlike the official library of the Concert of Antient Music, however, these vellum manuscript volumes remained at Buckingham Palace after 1883, and remain in the Royal Music Library to the present day. It is possible, of course, that they represented duplicates within the Concert’s library, or for some other reason were not deemed suitable to be included in the bequest to the Royal College of Music. There is at least one other volume within the RML which bears the annotation ‘for the Antient Concert’, suggesting that some volumes were left behind.

Title page of Sacchini's aria 'Lieta quest’alma' with the annotation on the top left 'for the Antient Concert'. British Library R.M.23.g.7.(6)

More probably, these volumes, associated with directors and conductors of the Concert rather than forming part of its library, were acquired, perhaps in the 1840s, by Prince Albert, though the exact moment of acquisition will remain a mystery. It is possible that Albert purchased the collection from Cawdor, or was gifted it, and that Albert himself ordered them to be rebound at this stage. However, this plain vellum binding seems perhaps too practical a choice for a monarch. On the other hand, few volumes of Prince Albert’s presumably extensive music collection have been positively identified within the Royal Music Library; it is quite possible that parts of his collection may be visually unspectacular. Alternatively, these volumes may have been bound by Cawdor before they passed to Prince Albert; they feature an index in the same hand (as yet unidentified), presumably added at the point of binding.

Further research regarding Prince Albert’s music collection within the RML may in future enable a more certain context for the last link in the chain of provenance of this fascinating sub-collection. 

Mary-Jannet Leith

PhD Placement Student, The British Library

References

[1] Davies, J.E. The Changing Fortunes of a British Aristocratic Family 1689-1976: The Campbells of Cawdor and their Welsh Estates (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press) (2019), p. 280.

[2] McVeigh, S. ‘The Professional Concert and Rival Subscription Series I London, 1783-1793’, Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, 22:1 (1989), p. 19.

[3] British Library MS Mus. 1780.

[4] McVeigh, S. ‘London: Musical Life: 1660-1800: Concert Life’, Grove Music Online (2001).

[5] CONCERTS, &C. The Musical examiner: an impartial weekly record of music and musical events; May 25, 1844; 2, 82, p. 594.

[6] British Library R.M.22.g.1.

[7] Queen Victoria’s Journals: Volume 19, p. 138: Wednesday 16th April 1845.

[8] The Musical World, XX (April 1845), p. 192.

[9] Cawse, J.R. “Prince Albert’s Early Music”, The Galpin Society Journal, Aug. 1989, Vol. 42, p. 7; https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O90818/bass-viol-tielke-joachim/.

[10] Martin, Sir Theodore: ‘Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort’, London, 1875: Appendix A: ‘Memorandum as to the Influence of H.R.H. the Prince Consort upon Musical Taste in England’, pp. 486-487.