WoO 205 Jokes and Notes on Letters
WoO 205a Baron, Baron, Baron four humorous bars for friend Nicolaus Zmeskall
WoO 205a “Baron, Baron, Baron” four jokes for his friend Nicolaus Zmeskall, 1798, published in 1865 by Nohl, Briefe Beethovens, number 10, (later by Thayer-R, II, page 117).
They are found at the beginning of a letter, apparently from 1798, probably addressed to Zmeskall, in which Beethoven asks for an appointment for the next day with the guitarist Mylich, a friend of Amenda, and jokes about the latter’s name, who makes amends for the mistakes in counting the pauses (he is playing with him) and now must help him track down this guitarist.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205a Baron, Baron Musikalischer Scherz (C-dur) Widmung: – NGA XU/2 (Hess 286) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written between the spring of 1798 and the autumn of 1799 in a letter sent to Nikolaus Zmeskall. The first edition appeared posthumously in the 1865 edition of Ludwig Nohl’s letters. In the letter, the musical scherzo is the final farewell, the date of which is mentioned by Carl Amenda, who stayed in Vienna between the spring of 1798 and the autumn of 1799 and then returned to his hometown of Courland. As for Nikolaus Zmeskall, see op. 95.
WoO 205b Allein, Allein, two bars at the end of a letter to Count Moritz Lichnowsky
WoO 205b “Allein, Allein”, two bars at the end of a letter to Count Moritz Lichnowsky, September 21, 1814, first published in Marx’s biography of Beethoven in 1863, I, second edition, page 121. Hess 287, – KH. (WoO) 205/b .
The letter is the one already mentioned in the previous issue; at the end of it, after speaking with the Earl for the dedication of the Battle of Victoria to the Prince Regent of England, through the English Minister Plenipotentiary in Vienna Lord Castlereagh, and about an “academy” to be organized in the city on his return, Beethoven adds: “With the court there is nothing to do; I made the offer but…“; the two lines follow with the words: “Allein, allein, allein! Jedoch Silentium!”.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205b Allein, allein Musikalischer Scherz (a-moll) Widmung: — NGA XI1/2 (Hess 287) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written on 21 September 1814 in a letter sent to Count Moritz von Lichnowsky. The first edition was published posthumously in 1863 in the second edition of Adolph Bernhard Marx’s biography of Beethoven. The joking note refers to what was noted immediately before in the letter: “mit dem Hof ist nichts anzufangen, ich habe mich angetragen — allein —” (BGA 740). For Count Lichnowsky, see opus 35.
WoO 205c O Adjutant, fragment
WoO 205c “O Adjutant”, fragment, January 1817, first published by Seyfried as an appendix in his Beethoven Studien, Vienna 1832; then by Thayer-Riemann, III, page 631. – Hess 288.
Four notes, at the end of a letter from Beethoven to the publisher Tobias Haslinger, dated January 1817, in which the maestro communicates the dedication of the Sonata opus 101 to Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. The original is unknown today. “Adjutant” was a joking nickname sometimes given by Beethoven to his publisher friend.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205c O Adjutant Musikalischer Scherz (a-moll) Widmung: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 288) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written between 9 and 23 January 1817 in a letter sent to Tobias Haslinger. The first edition was published posthumously in 1832 in “Ludwig van Beethoven’s Studien im Generalbasse, Contrapuncte und in der Compositions-Lehre”. The musical joke refers to Beethoven’s usual nickname for Haslinger (see WoO 182).
WoO 205d Wo? Wo?, fragment
WoO 205d “Wo? Wo?”, fragment, 22-27 July 1817. First published by Nohl, Neue Briefe Beethovens, number 172. (1867). Then also from Thayer-Reimann, IV, page 489. Hess 289 – KH. (WoO) 205/d.
The original manuscript is unknown. These are two lines at the end of a letter to Mrs. Nanette Streicher, pianist, daughter of the well-known piano manufacturer J. Andreas Streicher; both of them have been good friends of Beethoven for some time. Nanette also sometimes took care of the master’s domestic ménage, trying to put some order into it; from which one can understand the question posed by Beethoven in the above-mentioned letter, written in Nussdorf between 22 and 27 July 1817 and addressed to her in Baden, to know where her bed covers were. The letter ends with these words: “Wo sind meine Bettdecken?” (Where are my bed covers?) followed by the above notes.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205d Wo? Wo? Musikalischer Scherz Widmung: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 289) AGA –
Origin and publication: Transcribed around 27 July 1817, probably on the envelope of a letter addressed to Nannette Streicher. The first edition appeared posthumously in Ludwig Nohl’s Neuer Briefausgabe of 1867. Maria Anna (Nannette) Streicher (1769-1833), née Stein, was the daughter of the famous Augsburg organ and piano maker Johann Andreas Stein, herself a pianist and piano maker. He may have met Beethoven in 1787 in Augsburg on his return journey from Vienna. Nannette married pianist Johann Andreas Streicher in 1794 and moved to Vienna, where she and her brother Matthäus opened a piano manufacturing company, which quickly prospered and gained a good reputation (BGA 23). Beethoven later gave frequent instructions and recommendations to improve piano mechanics, and a bust based on Beethoven’s waist mask adorned the famous salon of the Streicher factory. Nannette Streicher played an important role in Beethoven’s life, especially in 1817 and 1818, when she helped him deal with his everyday problems and household chores. Beethoven’s letter (BGA 1145) accompanies a letter to Nannette Streicher (BGA 1142) written earlier but remained intact. Thayer, Nohl and all editions of German letters reproduce the letter with the musical scherzo with the question “Wo sind meine Bettdecken?”tag. The handwritten transcription of the letter preserved today in the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn (D-BNba, NE 204) does not contain such a postscript, which may have been written on the now missing envelope. In another letter of the same period, Beethoven again asked for the blankets (BGA 1146).
WoO 205e – Erfüllung!, two lines from June 1819
WoO 205e – “Erfüllung!”, two lines from June 1819. Published by Frimmel in the Montags Revue of Vienna of 12 November 1900, then by M.A.L., number 244. Hess 290 – KH. (WoO) 205/e.
They are found during a letter of June 1819 written by Beethoven to Archduke Rudolf of Austria to congratulate him on his appointment as archbishop of Olmütz. The original manuscript is unknown. The theme is identical to that of Hope, referred to in Biamonti number 688.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205e Erfüllung Musikalischer Scherz (D-dur) Widmung: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 290) AGA —
Origin and publication: Written on 3 March 1819 in a letter sent to Archduke Rudolf. The first edition appeared posthumously in 1900 in the Wiener Montags-Revue. Beethoven notes the musical scherzo in a letter of congratulations to Archduke Rudolf on his appointment as archbishop of Olmütz (BGA 1292). With “Erfüllung” Beethoven parodies the theme of the musical task for the Archduke, “O Hoffnung” (WoO 200), which he had provided a few months earlier, which Beethoven strove to have published. As regards Archduke Rudolf, see opus 58.
WoO 205f “Scheut euch nicht” canon for Treitschke
WoO 205f “Scheut euch nicht”, canon to Treitschke, 1821 – 1822, first published in the Allgemeine Deusche Musik. Zeitung of 6 April 1888 (According to a communication by the American musicologist Mac Ardle to Hess, already in the Signale of 1856, 282) Hess 291 – KH. (WoO) 205/f.
The original that the KH. (ibid.) (1955) as existing in Widegg’s Koch collection, would be unknown today, according to the most recent Hess catalogue (1957). The canon was written at the end of an undated letter to Treitschke, which is said by some to be dated “around 1820”, by Anderson around 1821. The KH., which we follow, supposes 1821 – 1822 as the epoch.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205f Scheut euch nicht Musikalischer Scherz (F-dur) Widmung: -NGA XII/2 (Hess 291) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written between 1818 and 1822 in a letter to Georg Friedrich Treitschke. The first edition appeared posthumously in 1888 in the Berliner Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung. The letter is not dated. Beethoven’s Latin signature indicates that it was written after 1817. This is probably a reaction to the attempts of Georg Friedrich Treitschke (1776-1842), born in Leipzig, to have Beethoven’s works placed at the Peters publishing house, which was based in that city. The letter must therefore have been written in May 1822 at the latest, before Beethoven and Carl Friedrich Peters established direct relations (Beethoven announced that he would “das Leipziger Bureau ein andermal bedienen”; BGA 1216). Treitschke was an economist, playwright, director, theater director, and butterfly expert. In 1802 he was employed as a director and author at the court theatres in Vienna (Hofoper and Hoftheater). In 1809 he became deputy director of the Theater an der Wien, but returned to the court theater in 1811. As an economist, from 1822 he was responsible for the accounting of the court theatres. Treitschke made a name for himself primarily as a librettist and textbook translator. It is not known when Beethoven first met him. As early as 1807 he became interested in one of his booklets (BGA 300). At the beginning of June 1811 he asked him to edit the French libretto “Les ruines de Babylone” by R. C. G. de Pixerecourt (BGA 501, 503, 510). The project was unsuccessful, apparently because it was Treitschke who did not accept the job. When Beethoven revised the “Fidelio” in 1814, he again asked Treitschke for help. The latter thoroughly revised the libretto and streamlined the dramatic part. At the beginning of April 1814 he wrote the text of the Singspiel “Die gute Nachricht”, which celebrated the invasion of Paris by the Allies and for which Beethoven set to music the finale “Germania” (WoO 94). From Treitschke’s pen also came the libretto for the Singspiel “Die Ehrenpforten” (1815), for which Beethoven set the final piece “Es ist vollbracht” (WoO 97) to music. By the end of 1814 Beethoven was considering a work based on Treitschke‘s “Romulus und Remus” (BGA 760) and negotiations dragged on until the end of 1815, but the work was ultimately not realized. In Lied WoO 147 Beethoven set Treitschke’s poem “Ruf vom Berge” of 1816 to music.
WoO 205g Tobias! Paternostergässler, musical joke for Haslinger
WoO 205g “Tobias! Paternostergässler”, musical scherzo for Haslinger, late September 1824, published by Kalischer in Die Musik of 2 June 1906. Hess 292 – KH. (WoO) 205/g.
These are the lines of a letter from Beethoven, written in Baden towards the end of September 1824 to Tobias Haslinger, the well-known Viennese publisher and friend of his, who was the subject of musical jokes more than once. The lyrics: “Tobias! Paternostergässler, Paternostergässerischer, Bierhauserlischer, musikalischer Philister!” (Tobias, Paternoster Street, brewery-goer, musical Philistine!). The manuscript is part of the Koch collection in Wildegg (Switzerland).
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205g Tobias! Paternostergäßler Musikalischer Scherz (E-dur) Widmung: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 292) AGA –
Origin and publication: Probably written at the end of September 1824 in a letter sent to Tobias Haslinger. The first edition was published posthumously in 1906 in the Berlin magazine Die Musik. The letter is not dated. The dating is based on Beethoven’s announcement of a decree that would soon be notified to Haslinger as “Großsiegelbewahrer” (on Haslinger see WoO 182). Beethoven repeated this announcement with the same joking address in a letter dated October 7, 1824 (BGA 1894). The composer also mentions a receipt from Prague, which probably refers to the semi-annual payment of his pension from Prince Kinsky’s fund. The amount was disbursed on the first day of October.
WoO 205h Tobias, fragment
WoO 205h “Tobias”, fragment, spring 1825, published in the Allegemeine musikalischer Zeitung of 15 September 1869, and then by others. Hess 293 – Kinsky – Halm (WoO) 205h.
The manuscript is part of the Koch collection in Wildegg (Switzerland). It is another of the various musical jokes directed at Tobias Haslinger.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205h Tobias, Tobias Musikalischer Scherz (D-dur) Widmung: – NGA XI1/2 (Hess 293) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written perhaps in the spring of 1825 or in the spring of 1826 in a letter to Tobias Haslinger. The first edition appeared posthumously in 1869 in Gustav Nottebohm’s “Beethoveniana” VII. The letter is not dated. The main point of reference is the identification of the work cited therein. If it really were op. 115, the letter would be datable to the spring of 1825. It is also possible that it is Opus 116 and therefore it would be correct to date it to the spring of 1826 (BGA 1955).
WoO 205i Bester Tobias
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205i Bester Tobias Musikalischer Scherz (C major) Dedication: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 294) AGA –
Origin and publication: Composed on 2 October 1826 in a letter to Tobias Haslinger. The first edition appeared posthumously in the 1865 edition of Nohl’s letter collection. The original has been lost. In the Baer Antiquariat catalogue in Frankfurt it was listed with the date 2 October 1826.
WoO 205k Erster aller Tobiasse
WoO 205k “Erster aller Tobiasse”, 13 October 1826, published by Thayer – R., V, page 393. Hess 295 – Kinsky – Halm (WoO) 205k. Mentioned in T., page 194.
Twelve jokes in a letter to Tobias Haslinger dated October 13, 1826. The original manuscript is in the St. Petersburg State Public Library.
[By Biamonti Giovanni – Catalogo cronologico e tematico delle opere di Beethoven comprese quelle inedite e gli abbozzi non utilizzati, Torino, ILTE 1968]
Official title: WoO 205k Erster aller Tobiasse Musikalischer Scherz (C-dur) Widmung: — NGA XII/2 (Hess 295) AGA –
Origin and publication: Written on October 13, 1826 in a letter written in Gneixendorf for Tobias Haslinger. The first edition appeared posthumously in 1908 in Alexander W. Thayer’s biography of Beethoven.