Beethoven: A Political Artist in Revolutionary Times

271 Pages·2021·26.1 MB·English

by  William Kinderman

Beethoven

Beethoven
A Political Artist in Revolutionary Times
W i l l i a m K i n d e r m a n
The UniversiTy of ChiCago Press / ChiCago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2020 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except
in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For
more information, contact the University of Chicago Press,
1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2020
Printed in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20    1 2 3 4 5
isBn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 66905- 2 (cloth)
isBn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 66919- 9 (e- book)
doi: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226669199.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kinderman, William, author.
Title: Beethoven : a political artist in revolutionary times /
William Kinderman.
Description: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCn 2020032956 | isBn 9780226669052 (cloth) |
isBn 9780226669199 (e-book)
Subjects: LCsh: Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770–1827—Criticism
and interpretation. | Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770–1827—
Political and social views.
Classification: LCC ML410.B42 K606 2020 | ddC 780.92 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032956
This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso Z39.48– 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
For Daniel and Laura,
Anna and Marie

Contents
Preface ix
I
A Tale of Two Cities:
Bonn to Vienna
3
II
The Sublime
and Inverted Sublime
33
III
Beethoven
in Heiligenstadt
62
IV
Path to the Eroica
84
V
Leonore as
“Angel of Freedom”
110
VI
From Grätz to Wagram
and Leipzig
140
VII
A Double Chill: Beethoven
in Metternich’s Vienna
167
VIII
Then and Now:
The Ninth Symphony
195
acKnoWledgments 222
list of illustrations and examPles 223
note about abbreviations 226
sources and documents 227
index 249
Preface
Beethoven has long been regarded as among the greatest of com-
posers, but it has been overlooked that he was also among the most
political of artists. He lived through some of the most turbulent
events in European history: the French Revolution, the Reign
of Terror, the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, the battles of
Wagram and Leipzig, the Congress of Vienna, and the ensuing era
of political repression. He depended on the generous support of
aristocratic sponsors, yet smashed the bust of Prince Lichnowsky
in 1806 and kept a chilly distance from the Austrian emperor
Franz. Beethoven was never reconciled with the absolutist politics
of the Napoleonic period or its aftermath in the Metternich regime
that held power in Austria until after the composer’s death in 1827.
Two centuries later, Beethoven’s musical legacy retains an
astonishing cultural presence. While we mark and move beyond
the composer’s anniversary year 2020, a fresh investigation of
the political importance of Beethoven’s artistic legacy seems
timely. The political narratives that sustain his art contribute to
its remarkable resilience. The background has to do with events
much bigger than any individual. Coming of age in the progres-
sive environment in Bonn, Beethoven enrolled in the recently
founded Bonn University in 1789, just as revolution broke out in
nearby France. Pursuing his musical career from 1792 in Vienna,
he encountered an artistically rich yet politically reactionary sit-
uation. His risky enthusiasm for Napoleon as First Consul of the
French Republic soon cooled, yet Beethoven remained fascinated
by Bonaparte, and saw himself as a competitor in the cultural
sphere, a “Generalissimo” in the realm of tones. In later years,
ix