Beethoven's Studies with Joseph Haydn (with a Postscript on the Length of Beethoven's Bonn Employment)

Abstract

I. Historical AntecedentsHaydn met Beethoven, presumably for the first time, in 1790, when he stopped over in Bonn on way to London; he had departed Vienna along with Johann Peter Salomon (1745-1815) on December 15,1790. They arrived in Bonn on Saturday, December 25, and on the same day made an entry in the guestbook of the Bonn Reading and Recreational Society (Lese- undErholungsgeseuschas). Sunday there followed a high mass by the court musical establishment, probably under the direction of Hof kapellmeister Andrea Luchesi (17411801 ), at which they performed one of Haydn's own masses in presence. Subsequendy the elector, Maximilian Franz (1756-1801), presented to him his entire musical company,1 to which Ludwigvan Beethoven belonged as violist, harpsichordist, and second organist. Albert Christoph Dies ( 1755-1822) reported that the elector took him at once by the hand, and presented him to virtuosi with the words: ?Thus I make you acquainted with your much cherished Haydn.'2 There was supposed to have been a small dinner in and Salomon's lodgings afterwards; at the invitation of the elector, this had metamorphosed into a banquet for twelve persons to which the most capable musicians had been invited.3 That Beethoven attended this event is likely but cannot be proven.On return journey from London in July 1792, once again chose a route that passed through Bonn and stopped over there. According to Franz Gerhard Wegeier (1765-1848), the elector's orchestra hosted a breakfast for him in Bad Godesberg: On this occasion Beethoven placed before him a cantata which paid special attention to, urging its composer to pursue studies further.4 The cantata mentioned can only have referred to Beethoven's Cantata on the Death of EmperorJoseph II, WoO 87, or The Cantata on the Accession of Emperor Leopold II, WoO 88, both of which date from 1790. Further evidence that and Beethoven met in the summer of1792 exists in the following inscription, which Beethoven's friend Christoph von Breuning (1773-1841) wrote in Stammbuch:Behold!Albion beckons you, oh friend,behold the shady grove that he offers the singer!Hurry then without delayacross the surging seawhere a more beautiful grove offers you shade,and a extends hand so graciously,one who, from our realms,has also fled into Albion's care.May your song resound there strong and victorious,may it echo wildly throughout the grove, over the din of the waves,back here to these realmsfrom which you joyfully have escaped.5Albion is the poetic name for Britannia, and the bard might be a reference to Johann Peter Salomon. Clearly, had offered to bring Beethoven with him on next trip to England.6 Corresponding travel plans of Haydn's could have only been known by the summer of 1792. Beethoven's former teacher in Bonn, Christian Gotdob Neefe ( 1748-1798), provided historical and critical context in a report from the Berlinische musikalische Zeitung on October 26,1793: Haydn wanted to take him on second journey to London; but nothing has yet come of this journey.The meeting of the two composers in 1790 or 1792 (or even in both years) and Haydns high reputation were clearly decisive in Beethovens departure for Vienna on November 2 or 3,1792, supported by the elector with a stipend to take composition lessons with there. Upon parting, Beethovens patron Count Ferdinand Waldstein (1762-1823) wrote this famous dictum in Stammbuch-.Dear Beethoven! You are going to Vienna in fulfillment of your long frustrated wishes. The Genius of Mozart is mourning and weeping over the death of her pupil. She has found a refuge but no occupation with the inexhaustible Haydn; through him she wishes to form a union with another. With the help of assiduous labor you shall receive: Mozarts spirit from Haydns hands. …