Beethoven‑Album (1846) – A Commemorative Book of International Tributes
Beethoven-Album: ein Gedenkbuch (1846)
Beethoven-Album: ein Gedenkbuch dankbarer Liebe und Verehrung für den großen Todten; gestiftet und beschrieben von einem Vereine von Künstlern und Kunstfreunden aus Frankreich, England, Italien, Deutschland, Holland, Schweden, Ungarn und Rußland.
The texts and documents on this page are by Luigi Bellofatto.
The musical examples on this page are by Graziano Denini.
Beethoven‑Album: a commemorative book of grateful love and veneration for the great departed, created and written by an association of artists and art‑lovers from France, England, Italy, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Hungary and Russia.
Stuttgart, Hallberger’sche Verlagshandlung, in collaboration with Paris, Bureau Central de musique; London, Ewer & Co.; Milan, G. Ricordi (1846). In 4to (26 × 18.5 cm), XVI + 312 pages with engraved steel‑plate frontispiece portrait.
Published following the celebrations for the inauguration of the Beethoven monument in Bonn, held the previous year (10–12 August 1845) in the presence of the King of Prussia and the Queen of England.
The project had already been conceived in 1835, but insufficient donations had prevented its realization until Franz Liszt (whose contribution appears on pp. 274–77) finally formed a committee after receiving financial support from the banker Mertens‑Schafhausen.
As a sign of “lasting remembrance” of those three historic days, the music was composed and the book published by the house of Ludwig Hallberger and the musicologist Gustav Schilling (1805–1880): “Beethoven’s umpteenth worthy monument, which—being accessible to all—may also be, for everyone and forever… a visible sign of great love and veneration.”
Another noteworthy—and much rarer—Beethoven Album
It was published in 1842 and the proceeds (1304 Taler and 15 pence) were destined exclusively for the monument.
Among the various first editions included in this album, noteworthy are:
- Liszt’s transcription of the funeral march from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Raabe No. 128)
- Chopin’s Op. 45 (“Prélude pour le Piano”; Platzman 2nd ed., p. 176)
- Mendelssohn’s 17 Variations sérieuses Op. 54 (Wehner S. 343)
This was the contribution of the Viennese publisher Mechetti to the Beethoven monument in Bonn. Only very few copies are known today.
This extremely rare book will be the subject of a dedicated study on our website.
Various remarks concerning the Bonn monument
“At least the Beethoven monument in Bonn is a sign of attention for the simple, ignorant wanderer” (Alster, p. 131).
Or that of L. C. Beckmann, Amsterdam (p. 149), who writes:
“A monument is erected for you… as if one feared forgetting your music… Then greater honour is paid to the master than by a likeness in stone… In his music his spirit lives again.”
Also noteworthy is the contribution of the musician Baron von Lannoy (p. 98), referring to Beethoven’s political stance at the time of the removal of the dedication of the Eroica to Napoleon.
And the contribution of E. von Heydebrand (Prussian officer in Oels, p. 228):
“Deep within my breast I silently preserve a strong admiration for that which neither word nor pen is sufficient for me!”
This book, which can also be downloaded in PDF format from our website, is considered extremely rare on the antiquarian book and music market.
Questo libro, che si può scaricare anche in formato PDF dal nostro sito, è considerato rarissimo sul mercato librario e musicale.
The artistic world of the time was called upon to write short contributions
The album is at the same time a reflection of the musical life of the period, with many contents published here for the first time.
One example is the piece:
- “Never printed; discovered by A. Geissler, cantor in Zschopau” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Die Nase, composed for his wife.
No less important are the three pages of recollections by the enchanting Schröder‑Devrient, who at the age of 17 had sung in Fidelio, and here recalls in particular the final rehearsal under the Maestro’s direction.
Among the 180 musical contributions, we may mention:
- the 7 pages of music by Meyerbeer on a poem by Ferd. Braun, at Beethoven’s grave
- Léon Kreutzer (nephew of Rodolphe)
- Tobias Haslinger and Carl Haslinger, with two pages Hommage à Hector Berlioz
For Italy, there are contributions by Teresa Milanollo (1827–1904) and her sister Maria (1832–1848), celebrated violinists from Savigliano. Perhaps everything originated from their encounter with Liszt in 1843, when they had the honour of performing together with the great musician in Cologne.
There is also a contribution by the composer and conductor Gaspare Spontini, written only a few years before his death in January 1851.
Another publication by Herrmann Josef Landau
Erstes poetisches Beethoven‑Album: zur Erinnerung an den großen Tondichter und an dessen Säcularfeier, begangen den 17. Dezember 1870 Prague: Selbstverlag des Verfassers, 1872. – XIV, 450 pages.
Published on the occasion of the centenary of Beethoven’s birth, it contains numerous essays and writings on Beethoven and his music, some published here for the first time.
The contributions come from all over Germany and Austria, with accounts of the concerts held for the centenary in various cities.
The Italian critic Filippo Filippi took part in the ceremony in Vienna, and his report is described in detail in his book Musica e Musicisti.
This book too can be downloaded exclusively from our website.