Beethoven was introduced to Giulietta Guicciardi in about 1800 through the Brunsvik family. His mutual love-relationship with Guicciardi is mentioned in a November 1801 letter to his boyhood friend, Franz Wegeler. Beethoven dedicated to Giulietta his Sonata No. 14, popularly known as the "Moonlight" Sonata. Marriage plans were thwarted by Giulietta's father and perhaps Beethoven's common lineage. In 1803 she married Count Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg (1783–1839), himself an amateur composer.
Beethoven's relationship with Josephine Deym notably deepened after the death of her first husband in 1804. There is some evidence that Beethoven may have proposed to her, at least informally. While the relationship was apparently reciprocated, she, with some regret, turned him down, and their relationship effectively ended in 1807. She cited her "duty", an apparent reference to the fact that she was born of nobility and he was a commoner.[60] It is also likely that he considered proposing (whether he actually did or not is unknown) to Therese Malfatti, the dedicatee of "Für Elise" in 1810; his common status may also have interfered with those plans.
In the spring of 1811 Beethoven became seriously ill, suffering headaches and bad fevers. On the advice of his doctor, he spent six weeks in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz. The following winter, which was dominated by work on the Seventh symphony, he was again ill, and decided to spend the summer of 1812 at Teplitz. It is likely that he was at Teplitz when he wrote three love letters to an "Immortal Beloved".[61] While the identity of the intended recipient is an ongoing subject of debate, the most likely candidate, according to what is known about people's movements and the contents of the letters, is Antonie Brentano, a married woman with whom he had begun a friendship in 1810.[62][63] Beethoven traveled to Karlsbad in late July, where he stayed in the same guesthouse as the Brentanos. After traveling with them for a time, he returned to Teplitz, where after another bout of gastric illness, he left for Linz to visit his brother Johann.[64]
Beethoven's visit to his brother was made in an attempt to end the latter's immoral cohabitation with Therese Obermayer, a woman who already had an illegitimate child. He was unable to convince Johann to end the relationship, so he appealed to the local civic and religious authorities. The end result of Beethoven's meddling was that Johann and Therese married on 9 November.[64]
Beethoven in 1818 by August Klöber
In early 1813 Beethoven apparently went through a difficult emotional period, and his compositional output dropped for a time. Historians have suggested a variety of causes, including his lack of success at romance. His personal appearance, which had generally been neat, degraded, as did his manners in public, especially when dining. Some of his (married) desired romantic partners had children (leading to assertions among historians of Beethoven's possible paternity), and his brother Carl was seriously ill. Beethoven took care of his brother and his family, an expense that he claimed left him penniless. He was unable to obtain a date for a concert in the spring of 1813, which, if successful, would have provided him with significant funds.
Beethoven was finally motivated to begin significant composition again in June 1813, when news arrived of the defeat of one of Napoleon's armies at Vitoria, Spain, by a coalition of forces under the Duke of Wellington. This news stimulated him to write the battle symphony known as Wellington's Victory. It was premiered on 8 December at a charity concert for victims of the war along with his Seventh Symphony. The work was a popular hit, likely because of its programmatic style which was entertaining and easy to understand. It received repeat performances at concerts Beethoven staged in January and February 1814. Beethoven's renewed popularity led to demands for a revival of Fidelio, which, in its third revised version, was also well-received when it opened in July. That summer he also composed a piano sonata for the first time in five years (No. 27, Opus 90). This work was in a markedly more Romantic style than his earlier sonatas. He was also one of many composers who produced music in a patriotic vein to entertain the many heads of state and diplomats that came to the Congress of Vienna that began in November 1814. His output of songs included his only song cycle, "An die ferne Geliebte", and the extraordinarily expressive, but almost incoherent, "An die Hoffnung" (Opus 94).
Beethoven's relationship with Josephine Deym notably deepened after the death of her first husband in 1804. There is some evidence that Beethoven may have proposed to her, at least informally. While the relationship was apparently reciprocated, she, with some regret, turned him down, and their relationship effectively ended in 1807. She cited her "duty", an apparent reference to the fact that she was born of nobility and he was a commoner.[60] It is also likely that he considered proposing (whether he actually did or not is unknown) to Therese Malfatti, the dedicatee of "Für Elise" in 1810; his common status may also have interfered with those plans.
In the spring of 1811 Beethoven became seriously ill, suffering headaches and bad fevers. On the advice of his doctor, he spent six weeks in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz. The following winter, which was dominated by work on the Seventh symphony, he was again ill, and decided to spend the summer of 1812 at Teplitz. It is likely that he was at Teplitz when he wrote three love letters to an "Immortal Beloved".[61] While the identity of the intended recipient is an ongoing subject of debate, the most likely candidate, according to what is known about people's movements and the contents of the letters, is Antonie Brentano, a married woman with whom he had begun a friendship in 1810.[62][63] Beethoven traveled to Karlsbad in late July, where he stayed in the same guesthouse as the Brentanos. After traveling with them for a time, he returned to Teplitz, where after another bout of gastric illness, he left for Linz to visit his brother Johann.[64]
Beethoven's visit to his brother was made in an attempt to end the latter's immoral cohabitation with Therese Obermayer, a woman who already had an illegitimate child. He was unable to convince Johann to end the relationship, so he appealed to the local civic and religious authorities. The end result of Beethoven's meddling was that Johann and Therese married on 9 November.[64]
Beethoven in 1818 by August Klöber
In early 1813 Beethoven apparently went through a difficult emotional period, and his compositional output dropped for a time. Historians have suggested a variety of causes, including his lack of success at romance. His personal appearance, which had generally been neat, degraded, as did his manners in public, especially when dining. Some of his (married) desired romantic partners had children (leading to assertions among historians of Beethoven's possible paternity), and his brother Carl was seriously ill. Beethoven took care of his brother and his family, an expense that he claimed left him penniless. He was unable to obtain a date for a concert in the spring of 1813, which, if successful, would have provided him with significant funds.
Beethoven was finally motivated to begin significant composition again in June 1813, when news arrived of the defeat of one of Napoleon's armies at Vitoria, Spain, by a coalition of forces under the Duke of Wellington. This news stimulated him to write the battle symphony known as Wellington's Victory. It was premiered on 8 December at a charity concert for victims of the war along with his Seventh Symphony. The work was a popular hit, likely because of its programmatic style which was entertaining and easy to understand. It received repeat performances at concerts Beethoven staged in January and February 1814. Beethoven's renewed popularity led to demands for a revival of Fidelio, which, in its third revised version, was also well-received when it opened in July. That summer he also composed a piano sonata for the first time in five years (No. 27, Opus 90). This work was in a markedly more Romantic style than his earlier sonatas. He was also one of many composers who produced music in a patriotic vein to entertain the many heads of state and diplomats that came to the Congress of Vienna that began in November 1814. His output of songs included his only song cycle, "An die ferne Geliebte", and the extraordinarily expressive, but almost incoherent, "An die Hoffnung" (Opus 94).
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