WoO 176 “Glück Glück zum neuen Jahr!”, canon for Countess Erdödy, 31 December 1819, first published in the GA, No. 256/6 (series 23, p. 186) Bruers 210 – KH (WoO) 176 – Nottebohm pp. 162/167.

The original manuscript is held in the Library of the Paris Conservatory. The canon is addressed to Countess Erdödy as a New Year’s greeting; it had already been musically foreshadowed at the end of the short letter referred to under No. 713.

The manuscript is preserved in Paris in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica section, and is catalogued as ms. 37. It occupies the entire page and is written on a blank sheet without staves; the staves are drawn in ink and freehand, without a ruler, by Beethoven himself. It is a three-voice canon in unison; this type of canon is among Beethoven’s favourites since, as a dedicatory piece, it is the easiest to perform. Rudolf Klein, in his book Sämtliche Kanons – Kritisch-praktische Ausgabe (Doblinger, 1970), writes the following about this canon: “Das autograph erhaltene Blatt trägt das Datum ‘Wien 1819 am letzten Decemb.’ und war als Neujahrsgruß für die Gräfin Erdödy gedacht. Er ist zugleich das letzte Zeichen der freundschaftlichen Beziehungen, denn wenig später ging die Gräfin unter nicht ganz geklärten Umständen ins Ausland.” [The sheet that survives in autograph form bears the date “Vienna 1819, the last day of December” and was intended as a New Year’s greeting for Countess Erdödy. At the same time, it is the last sign of friendly relations, for shortly afterwards the countess went abroad under circumstances that were not entirely clear.]

For further insight into the relationship between Beethoven and the countess, see Friends, patrons and women who played a role in Beethoven’s life.