THE LATE PERIOD

VIENNA 1818 (Age 47)

CRISIS IN CREATIVITY

FAMILY - SOCIAL ISSUES: It is likely not a simple coincidence that Beethoven's creative output declined between the years 1815 and 1817, given his legal struggles over Karl and his struggles to provide proper care of the boy. In addition, Beethoven suffered from a protracted illness that began in October 1816, along with his near total deafness.

There was a significant drop in Beethoven's work between 1815 and 1817 during which time he suffered from prolonged illnesses and from the emotional burden of failed romances and from caring for his ill brother Carl who finally died November 15, 1815 of tuberculosis, and his belief that Carl's wife Johanna was an unfit mother to his nine-year-old nephew Karl. Before his death, Carl established Beethoven and Johanna as joint guardians of the boy, which Beethoven fought vigorously in court. This battle extended through 1820 and caused a great deal of financially and emotional stress to all parties involved. The many court appearances eventually led to the determination (December 18, 1818) that Beethoven was, in fact, a commoner - leading to further stress for him. Through those years, Beethoven was quite severe with Karl, and the boy became increasingly unhappy - eventually leading to a suicide attempt 7/31/1826. Karl survived and eventually joined the army - escaping the traumatic life surrounding the custody battles and Beethoven's demands on him.

1818 [August von Kloeber]

Josephine, very ill, made the following entry into her diary on this, Minona's birthday: "on the 8th of April. I have but few words to express that which the Spirit tells me in moments of peace which I esteem absolutely to be no other than those of the greatest withdrawal from all earthly things - Our friendship can also only be accepted in its existence during such moments - In speaking the soul - speaks no more. -- Spirits are mute.

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I would not have written these fragments had I not believed therewith to comply with your wish, that must be precious to me after your last words - That which your appearance awakes in my feelings - I cannot describe - We none of us know what we do, speak, are - the universe in the breast of each human being and therefore in us is the starry sky in which are just these proportions, just these same immeasurable distances - as in the constellations - it seems to break the axis within us, undone, flung off its hinges, destroyed we stand there - face to face - for that which we have ruined mutually and in ourselves - appears before our inner eye - happy you are not - but numbed - occupied with a serious view outwards - and so peaceful - composed - progressing in part - in a state of negative happiness - the book of memories presents various colors - you have often turned the leaves of it - looked through - judged - also you - yourself - and before the face of the Highest examined, this is the jewel that you have found, all else diversion of a nobler genre - To melt into one can only occur when first we are melted into one with the Eternal Being, with true fervor, this pure desire, the more it purifies itself - is alone union - for ever - all else shell; form; abodes, which also in and with the teaching of the unending succession in a continuous line move up towards the final point -

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Could the Spirit completely manifest itself to you, its defects are that it cannot - " [Note: Friedrich Schiller wrote:"When the soul speaks, the soul, alas, speaks no more," and: "But only Polyhymnia expresses the soul"]

August von Klober [1793-1864], com'ed by his brother-in-law, Baron von Skrbensky to paint B's portrait. Klober and B. had a common friend in a member of the Imperial Court Opera Theater - the cellist Dont. He advised that B. would be most amenable to the request while in Modling - a letter of introduction was sent and B. agreed. From Klober's recollections:

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"Early in the morning I went to call on him. His old housekeeper told me he was still at breakfast but would soon be coming; in the meantime there were books by Goethe and Herder with which I could occupy myself. B. finally came in and said, 'You want to paint me, but I am very impatient.' He was already quite deaf, and if I wanted to say something I had to write in, or else he used his ear-trumpet when his famulus (a young relation of about twelve [nephew Karl]) was not present to shout the words into his ear. " "Beethoven then sat down, and the boy had to begin practicing the [Broadwood] fortepiano, a gift from England and equipped with a large metal dome. The instrument stood roughly four to five paces behind him, and Beethoven, despite his deafness, corrected every mistake the boy made, had him repeat single passages, etc." "Beethoven always looked very serious, his extremely lively eyes usually wandered, looking upwards somewhat darkly and low-spiritedly, which I have attempted to capture in the portrait. His lips were shut, but the expression about the mouth was not unfriendly. - One of his favorite topics was the overweening vanity and perverted taste of the Viennese aristocracy, about whom he never had a good word to say, for he considered himself neglected by them, or not sufficiently understood."

After roughly ¾ of an hour he became restless; remembering Dont's advice, I now knew it was time to stop, and asked him only if I could come again the next day, since I was staying in Modling. Beethoven was quite agreeable and said, 'Then we can meet more often, for I cannot sit still too long at one time; you must also have a good look at Modling, for it is quite lovely here, and as an artist you must certainly be a nature-lover.' I encountered Beethoven several times on my walks in Modling, and it was most interesting to see him, a sheet of music paper and a stump of a pencil in his hand, stop often as though listening, look up and down and them write a few notes on the paper. Dont had told me that when I saw him thus, I should never speak to him or take any notice of him, because that would make him embarrassed or even unpleasant. Once, when setting out on a walk through the woods, I saw him climbing up the hill opposite, from the defile which separated us, his broad-brimmed, gray felt hat pressed under his arm; once at the top, he lay down full length under a pine-tree and looked at the sky for a long while. Every morning he sat a little less than an hour for me. When Beethoven saw my portrait, he mentioned that he liked the way the hair was done; other painters had always done it too elegantly dressed, as though he were appearing before a court official, and he was not like that at all. - I must mention that the oil painting done for my brother-in-law is larger than the lithograph, and that Beethoven is holding a sheet of music in his hand; the background is a Modling landscape." "Beethoven's dwelling in Modling was quite simple, as indeed was everything about him; his clothing consisted of a light blue frock-coat with yellow buttons, white waistcoat and necktie, as was then the fashion, but all in a quite neglected state. His complexion was healthy and robust, the skin somewhat pockmarked; his hair was the color of blued steel, having already begun to change from Black to gray. His eyes were blue-gray and quite lively. When his hair was tossed about by the wind, he had something absolutely Ossian-like and demoniacal about him. In a friendly conversation, however, he took on a genial and mild expression, particularly when he was pleasantly affected by the subject. Every mood of his spirit was immediately and violently expressed in his countenance." [Ira Brilliant Center - Translation by H.C. Robbins Landon, Beethoven: A Documentary Study, p296-97]