The Unheard Beethoven

The Unheard Beethoven Unrecorded, unpublished, unheard...these shouldn't be words associated with Beethoven.

06/06/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Tuesday, June 6, 1826

The candidate to serve as a maid, Marie Stiegel, arrives. She says she was sent by the bread seller. The housekeeper, Elise Seidl approves, saying, "She looks neat and lives with her husband." Seidl would like to get a table cloth.

Conversation Book 110, 55v. This concludes Conversation Book 110. Conversation Book 112 begins being used, probably today. This is a volume with 40 leaves; pages 31v and 40v do not have writing; Anton Schindler wrote a large red X through page 31v. There are several mentions in the book that can be specifically dated to June 9, 10, and 13, so this book appears to have been used primarily during the second week of June.

Beethoven makes an errand list:
Satin cloth
Sacra potential [Sacra is a traditional medical resin that includes anti-inflammatory and metabolic health benefits; Beethoven may have been considering its use for his regular gastric disturbances.]
Whether Karl needs handkerchiefs, shirts, he has 14 without that, he will need nose handkerchiefs.

Nephew Karl briefly comes by having checked on the status of some money for his uncle. [The German editors suggest Karl may have been checking to see whether funds had been deposited by publisher Maurice Schlesinger.] "The gentleman himself was not there, only a clerk, who knew that the money was there and was ready to be paid on demand." Uncle Ludwig asks if there was any discussion of the exchange rate and the fee for changing currencies. Karl doesn't know anything about that and asks whether that discount was not addressed in the letter. Karl's understanding is that "the discount can only take place if they payment is done sooner than it should have been, for example by bills of exchange that are for a specific period of time after sight, which one wants to be disbursed at once; otherwise not." While the banker might make a charge for currency exchange, that should not be deducted from the principal amount. "One could protest against that."

After Karl leaves, Beethoven's longtime friend Stephan von Breuning stops by as well. He probably will need to go to Cologne, and asks whether Beethoven would like to come with him. Beethoven asks when that would be, and Breuning replies in August. Beethoven is either noncommittal or suggests that he will likely be out in the country in August.

Breuning complains of rheumatism. He says that his wife asks Beethoven to come and have dinner with them on Thursday [June 8]. It has to be that date, because she is going out to the countryside on Friday [June 9. If Beethoven does go to the Breunings for dinner, there is no trace of that in Conversation Book 112, though another book could have been used.]

Conversation Book 112, 1r-2r.

06/05/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Monday, June 5, 1826

The housekeeper, Elise Seidl, has to run out for an errand and tells Beethoven she will be back soon.

Beethoven goes to a coffee house and reads today's newspapers. He makes a note of an advertisement for "pique bedding in the English style."

Conversation Book 110, 55v.

On the back of torn-out leaf BH 53 pp.11-12, Beethoven makes note of a number of different apartments available in the country, advertised in today's Wiener Zeitung (Nr.126) at 862. These included apartments with 2, 3, and 4 rooms in Theresianbad in Meidling, Hetzendorf, Raduan, and one in the Rear Briel near Mödling. Beethoven may have torn this page out himself to look into these apartments, though he does not end up moving to the country at all this summer.

At the sixth Royal Academic Concert held in London today, Beethoven's Septet op.20 is performed by an outstanding ensemble, which included a number of the great virtuosos of the day: Christoph Gottfried Kiesewetter on violin; Joseph A. Moralt on viola; Robert Lindley, cello; Domenico Dragonetti, double bass; Thomas L. Willman on clarinet; Giovanni Puzzi on horn; and John Mackintosh playing the bassoon. The Harmonicon for August, 1826 (Nr.XLIII) at 152 observed, "The beautiful septett by Beethoven was, as a whole, charmingly performed; though the violin indulged in a few of those frisks—the result of great animal spirits, we surmise—that are rather inimical to such solid, lovely music."

Beethoven's Septet op.20 is here performed by members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, November 9, 2020:

https://youtu.be/vPwzoKzZLZ4?si=ldMk0wnCZY54RuRZ

Carl Maria von Weber dies in London early this morning at the home of Sir George Smart. Weber had been in London for the premiere of his new opera Oberon. Weber had been warned by his physician not to make the trip. Suffering from tuberculosis, and in declining health in May, he nevertheless continued to conduct. The report in The Harmonicon of July, 1826 (Nr.XLIII) at 146-149 follows: "On Monday, the 5th of June, at seven o'clock in the morning, the Baron von Weber was found in a lifeless state in his bed, at the house of Sir George Smart [who had visited Beethoven several times in September of 1825], in Great Portland-street, where he had resided ever since his arrival in London. The disorder which has thus deprived the world of a genius who has contributed so much to the innocent pleasure, and therefore to the benefit of mankind, was a pulmonary consumption, which, to the common observer, had not assumed an immediately alarming form until the preceding Friday, when it compelled him to keep his room; but his spirits were not much depressed, his appetite was good, and he manifested no sense whatever of his approaching danger. The only change remarked in him within a few days of his decease, was an increasing anxiety to return to his native country, and to his family. His friends, of course, studied to divert his attention from a hope which they foresaw could never be realized; but all direct opposition only tended to create in him great uneasiness, and his mind became cheerful in proportion as he conceived that the various obstacles which presented themselves were capable of being surmounted. A countryman, M. Furstenau, who paid him constant attention, left him at eleven o'clock the night before his death, apparently in good spirits, and shewing no symptoms of immediate danger."

"With the laudable intention of satisfying all doubts, whether here or abroad, as to the cause of M. von Weber's death, an inspection of the body took place, the result of which was the following certificate:—

'On opening the body of C.M. von Weber, we found an ulcer on the left side of the larynx, the lungs almost universally diseased, filled with tubercle, of which many were in a state of suppuration, with two vomicae [pus-filled abscesses] — one about the size of a common egg, the other smaller, which was a quite sufficient cause of his death.'"

The intended performance of Der Freischütz at Covent Garden this evening for Weber's benefit is cancelled.

06/04/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, June 4, 1826 (very approximately)

A stray leaf torn from a conversation book that was used today or tomorrow survives at the Bonn Beethovenhaus, BH 53 pages 11-12. Unpaid assistant Karl Holz is talking to Beethoven about someone unidentified, who has been commissioned by the Musikverein to write a biography of Ignaz von Mosel. "He will be able to write something about him and his vanity; anyway, he can promise him to emphasize this characteristic as a great merit in Mosel's biography." They have commissioned a similar biography of Abbé Stadler. Beethoven remarks that they have said nothing about commissioning a biography about him. Holz agrees that they should, "but I said it would be a shame to give something like that to the Verein."

Sometime, possibly around now, Beethoven writes a short note to S.A. Steiner & Co. "Before you make the final impression, please send me the score along with a copy. It's urgent—It's urgent—Please send me just two lines to confirm that you have received the 7 fl. for the Overture from me. All yours, Bee—."

Brandenburg Letter 2102. The whereabouts of the original are unknown. The text is based upon a handwritten transcription by Theodore Frimmel, which is now held by the Bonn Beethovenhaus (Frimmel Estate M 45/6). Sieghard Brandenburg concludes that the note was addressed to a Viennese publisher, and from its content referred to a publication of an orchestral work in full score, which can only point to S.A. Steiner & Co. as the addressee.

The dating of the letter depends on the identification of the works in question. The wording regarding the Overture suggests a printed score, and not a set of parts. If the Overture is op.115 or 117, then the note dates from 1825 or 1826, respectively. About now seems appropriate, since op.116 and 117 were published in June and July of 1826. and Beethoven was highly agitated about the problems with the score of Tremate, empi Tremate, op.116 and would have wanted to see the final version before it went to press. If op.91, 92 or 93, the only other Beethoven orchestral works published in score by Steiner, is meant, then the letter would date from 1816 or 1817. But since the military epithets that Beethoven used during the latter period are absent, Brandenburg reasoned that the later dates were the more likely ones.

06/03/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Saturday, June 3, 1826

Nephew Karl visits his uncle to straighten out the maid situation for Ludwig. He has arranged for a new maid candidate [Marie Stiegel] to come, and if Uncle Ludwig finds her proper, he can take her on at once; Karl spoke to Frau Schlemmer yesterday, and she confirmed that this woman can begin immediately. Uncle Ludwig asks Karl to speak to the housekeeper, Elise Seidl. Karl agrees to do so before he goes. The maid will come a little later, then the previous maid can leave right away.

After Karl consults with the housekeeper, he tells his uncle that "She says that for the soup you must allow her to use a veal bone and some liver daily. She will buy it tomorrow. She did not dare do it today, probably because the maid told her that it would cost you too much."

Uncle Ludwig asks what they are offering for the maid's services; Karl says 10 florins per month.

Seidl wants to know whether Uncle Ludwig would like his asparagus with breadcrumbs and butter.

They need to figure out how much is due to the departing maid. Karl asks his uncle when the last maid started. She has been there 33 days, so at 20 kreutzers per day, she is entitled to 11 florins in pay.

Uncle Ludwig dictates a letter to Karl dated today for publisher Heinrich Albert Probst in Leipzig. "Your excellency!"

"I have always felt somewhat obliged to offer you works of my own composition whenever I was able. I am now freer than usual, since I have been forced to give smaller pieces to those who purchased larger works from me, without which they would not otherwise accept the larger ones. But you, so far as I recall, were unwilling to concern yourself with larger works at all. In this regard, I offer you a completely new quartet for two violins, viola, and cello; however, it should not surprise you if I request a fee of eighty ducats in gold for it; I can assure you on my honor that I have already been paid the same sum for several quartets. I must, however, ask you to write to me promptly on this matter. Should you approve my request, I ask that you transfer the sum to a local exchange house, where I can withdraw it upon delivery of the work. In the opposite case, however, I likewise expect a prompt reply, as other publishers have already made requests of me. The following small pieces are still available, which I could give you: a Serenade-Congratulations-Minuet [WoO 3] and an Entre-Acte [probably WoO 2b, the opening of the second act of the 1805 version of Leonore,] both for full orchestra; together for twenty ducats of gold."

"Awaiting your prompt reply, I remain your excellency's humble servant, Beethoven."

Brandenburg Letter 2159; Anderson Letter 1488. The original is held by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek (aut.32).The letter bears a "VIENNA" postmark and the registration note that it was received June 7th, and responded to on June 9th. That response does not survive and its contents are unknown. However, in any event Probst published none of the offered works, and they all remained unpublished during Beethoven's lifetime.

Uncle Ludwig would like to see Karl later today. Karl says that he can be with his uncle from 5 until 6 this afternoon. In order for Uncle Ludwig not to have to walk so far, he could wait somewhere in the City and Karl will meet him for an hour. Uncle Ludwig asks why Karl can only stay until 6. "In the evenings either one of my classmates comes to me, or I go to him, and then we study together. Things go much faster then." On other days when they don't eat together around 9 o'clock, Karl could come to see his uncle.

Later Beethoven waits for Karl at a coffee house and reads the newspapers. He copies down an ad from yesterday's Intelligenzblatt for venison at the Auerhahn, the best kind and lowest prices. He also notes down a report probably in the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung of May 28, 1826 (Nr.148) at 591 that Graf Rudolph von Lützow has been appointed ambassador to the Russian court at St. Petersburg. [This will be of interest to Beethoven for speedier communications with Prince Nikolai Galitzin, to try to collect the fee for the third quartet written for Galitzin.]

Karl meets up with Ludwig. Someone else came to see him this morning about being a cook. It is easier now to find housekeepers than to find kitchen helpers, he says. "Everyone thinks she is able to take care of a household." Uncle Ludwig asks whether they are done looking now. Karl says it will still be a few days; they'll find one suitable for him.

Conversation Book 110 52v-54v.

06/02/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, June 2, 1826

The new housekeeper, Elise Seidl, starts work today for Beethoven. The first order of business is shopping. She has Beethoven take a look at the pantry with her, so they can go through and see what is needed and she will go shopping.

Since the most recent kitchen maid was given two weeks' notice on May 19, and will be Beethoven's service tomorrow, Seidl asks whether Beethoven has already hired a maid, or whether she should bring one. A prospective maid, Marie Stiegel, has been sent by the bread seller, though at this point she only interviews with Seidl. Stiegel lives in Neubau. [She will end up in Beethoven's service for longer than most servants other than Barbara Holzmann.]

Seidl says she will go into the city and buy what is needed for today, only some plates and butter for tomorrow, and chicken eggs so that they have something in the house. "And please, how much do you eat?"

Seidl offers a potential menu for the shopping:

Herbal soups
Beef with 2 sauces
Side dish asparagus
Pickled brain
A whole roast or chicken

[For supper:]
Schnitzel from brisket
Chop

Beethoven suggests a loin roast. She says that's too big, unless she can get one of the best kind, which can be had in a smaller 3 pound size. She asks if he wants it stuffed.

Beethoven inquires about what game might be in season. She tells him that at the wild game market, the Wildpretmarkt, there is nothing but quails and venison right now.

Conversation Book 111, 51r-52r.

Carl Maria von Weber, living in London at the home of Sir George Smart, suddenly takes a turn for the worse with his tuberculosis, and is confined to his bed starting today.

06/01/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, June 1, 1826

Nephew Karl visits Uncle Ludwig today. He gives Ludwig at least two pair of gloves from Brother Johann. One pair cannot be cleaned at home; the other gloves can be.

Karl observes that the maid washed her feet in the water bucket, and the kettle is leaking. Uncle Ludwig asks why she washed her feet in the bucket; Karl answers she had an ulcer or something on her foot. Yesterday evening the housekeeper almost got hit by the maid because she had scolded her.

The ham for supper tonight looks good; the housekeeper bought a large one, because she wanted to serve ham with aspic tonight. Ludwig invites Karl to stay; Karl says he will if it won't be too late.

"They do not cook anything magnificent, but there are so many small dishes that are very good and which can only be made by a woman who understands cooking. They are quite well seasoned.

Ludwig makes some remark about Karl's future in business. Karl snaps, "That is nobody's business. I have completed rhetoric, and will be accepted everywhere." Ludwig changes the subject.

"The quartet was very much enjoyed." [It is unclear what quartet Karl is referencing.]

It turns out that the aspic was ruined because the housekeeper could not get ice anywhere, which was essential for it. The hams from his Herr Brother [Joseph Fesel] are not bad at all. [Fesel, or Vesel, Brother Johann's butcher brother-in-law, was married to Johann's wife Therese's sister, Katharina]

Karl mentions that at the Kärntnertor Theater they are going to perform the 1st act of Maestro Rossini's opera Tancredi, then the next day, the 2nd act of the opera Tancredi. [The theater did this on June 2 and 4, before the ballet The Swiss Milk Maid by Adalbert Gyrowetz.] At the Burgtheater, they could perform good things every day; there are enough of them.

Today there is illumination in Laxenburg. [On June 1, the Emperor and Empress were going to make an excursion from Vienna to Laxenburg. However, it ended up being postponed to June 13.]

Karl has an anecdote about royals. "The present King of Bavaria [Ludwig I] has the habit of going around dressed as the famous Haroun al-Raschid of Baghdad. One morning he went like that to the market place where the town hall is; a lot of journeymen were gathered there; none of them knew the King. He asked what they were doing there. They complained that they had to wait so long for the gentleman who was to issue their passports. The King went into the courtroom, where there was no one even though it was already time for court. He let all the journeymen come in and issued a passport for every one of them; however, at the bottom he wrote: 'Ludwig in the absence of his clerk.' Several journeymen are said to have come here with such a passport." [Karl may have heard this story from unpaid assistant Karl Holz; Holz will tell Ludwig the same story later this month.]

Uncle Ludwig wonders if he could get a gold medal from King Ludwig of Bavaria. Karl responds, "I do not think a medal could raise you up more than you already are. The court physician Stifft has about 10 medals, and no one has given him a thought for 20 years." It might not do any harm abroad, he concedes.

Uncle Ludwig either offers Karl wine, or accuses him of drinking; Karl answers "I do not drink."

Violinist Joseph Böhm comes up. Karl says he has no education at all. [When Böhm wrote in the conversation book, he wrote phonetically and was barely literate.]

Uncle Ludwig mentions he forgot to invite Holz to dinner. Karl jokes that "Holz is invited to dinner 365 days a year; and if he has not been invited, he'll invite himself." Uncle Ludwig thought that if he were coming he would have been there by now. Karl doesn't think that Holz takes eating early very seriously.

Karl says he must go home now, because he has to get up very early tomorrow morning [June 2]. "There are exams every day, and one must be prepared. I ask you to think about the tutor one of these days."

Conversation Book 111, 15r-18v. This concludes Conversation Book 111.

At some point, likely after Karl leaves, the new housekeeper [probably Elise Seidl] stops by today and talks with the departing housekeeper or maid. Seidl writes, "She says that if she had had someone who could have helped her, she would not have left." So far as her master is concerned, Seidl makes everything herself, and the kitchen maid only has to do the hardest labor. "If I have a person who I can set to work, then I'll take care of everything that's important."

Beethoven tells her that there will need to be shopping done. Seidl says that she'll try to come back early tomorrow morning then. "I am nothing less [than] practical, but I must insist that the maid is neat and tidy". Seidl repeats that she will come tomorrow.

Conversation Book 110, 49r-50v.

The June 1826 issue of The Harmonicon (Nr.XLII) at 118 includes a review of Three Grand Fantasias, potpourris on favorite theme, for the pianoforte by Beethoven's former pupil, Carl Czerny. The reviewer approves of the first two of the set. The first of these begins with an Allegro in A, followed by a vivace in C, on an unidentified subject by Beethoven.

05/31/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, May 31, 1826

Nephew Karl comes to see Uncle Ludwig today to help sort out the transition between servants. Elise Seidl is being interviewed again for a position as housekeeper, possibly having her cooking trial.

Probably after she leaves, Beethoven wants unpaid assistant Karl Holz to deliver his answer to publisher Mathias Artaria (possibly about the piano duet version of the Grosse Fuge). Karl says that he will not do so; Uncle Ludwig will have to tell him himself.

Back to housekeepers: Seidl could start at once. "She would perhaps be good as a cook. She spent 1 year in Bohemia with her parents, returned a short while ago, and is looking for a position." She said that the room for the housekeeper looked nice, but she was unimpressed by the dish situation in the kitchen. [A previous clumsy housekeeper broke a great many of Beethoven's dishes.] Karl asks whether she should be told she should start at once? Uncle Ludwig is noncommittal. Karl responds, "In any case, it has to be a person who can start at once, otherwise you will be on your own [on Friday June 2]. The day after tomorrow is her last day. Karl thinks that if Uncle Ludwig likes Seidl, he should go to her tonight and tell her that he wants to take her on. "That would be the best thing to do."

Uncle Ludwig would like the current housekeeper to be gone when Seidl starts. Karl says she will leave at 8 o'clock; he can arrange with Seidl to start at 9 or 10 on Friday, and she can start doing shopping tomorrow.

The current housekeeper complains that she cannot bake with lard, because she does not have any, and she cannot bake with butter. She bought a half quarter-pound of butter herself, because she had too little. Karl also asks what Uncle Ludwig wants to be done about the laundry. She [probably the washerwoman] won't have time to iron it herself before she leaves.

Uncle Ludwig dictates to Nephew Karl a letter for Berlin publisher Adolph Martin Schlesinger. "Your Excellency!"

"In reply to your honor in the letter of April 15th [Brandenburg Letter 2147]. I inform you that Count Brühl, however favorably he has spoken of the poem Melusina by Herr Grillparzer, nevertheless desires from me a different choice, because the aforementioned opera bears some resemblance to Baron de la Motte Fouqué's Undine. As soon as I have resolved both this matter and the composition, I will give you preference over all other publishers."

"Best regards to Herr Marx [editor of the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, published by Schlesinger]. I will send him something soon. I have long expected to receive news from your son regarding my latest quartet. His accident may be the cause of the delay. [Son Maurice Schlesinger's warehouse in Paris had burned down.] However, I believe that father and son are one and the same. Since, trusting in him, I have already written off several other publishers, you could undertake to publish the quartet yourself. You are already aware of the fee of eighty ducats in gold. As for smaller pieces, I have prepared: serenade congratulatory minuet [WoO 3] and an entre-acte [probably WoO 2b, the beginning of the original second act of Leonore], both for full orchestra, which I could let you have together for twenty ducats in gold."

"I must only ask that you reply as soon as possible. Regarding the works, please designate a place here where I can deliver them myself upon receipt of the sum in ducats."

"It will be very pleasant for me, by the way, to make your personal acquaintance very soon."

"Your most devoted, Beethoven."

Brandenburg Letter 2157; Anderson Letter 1487. The original letter is held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (W 6,5). Beethoven's phrasing is confusing, and it seems as if he is offering three different works. However, as will be made clear in a letter to another publisher on June 3, the Serenade he references and the Congratulations Minuet are one and the same piece. On receipt, Schlesinger added a notation, "Accepted and requested the original or a good copy." However, because of the confusion no agreement was reached and Schlesinger published neither of these works. Schlesinger had previously announced his intention to come to Vienna and visit Beethoven. He will do so in September.

The entr'acte WoO 2b is here performed by the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner:

https://youtu.be/qw_fT7PeEdM?si=df9zvFTVjY_u4cfK

Karl says he'll return tomorrow to discuss what needs to be done. He will also make an appointment about a kitchen maid.

Later today, Uncle Ludwig reads the newspapers in a coffee house. He copies down an advertisement from today's Intelligenzblatt of 2 volumes of poems by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, for 48 kreutzers C.M. at Ludwig Mausberger's bookshop.

Conversation Book 110, 47v-49r.

The Intelligenz-Blatt Supplement (No.IX) to today's Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (Nr.22) includes at 40 an advertisement by publisher C.F. Peters for Beethoven's Septet op.20, arranged for wind band by Swedish clarinetist and composer Bernhard Crusell (1775-1838).

The Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung published today (Nr.22) at 174 gives a rundown of the compositions played over the season in the subscription concerts of the Schuppanzigh Quartet. Those by Beethoven include the Quartet in E minor (Rasoumouwsky) [op.59/2]; in A op.18 [op.18/5]; Trio in E-flat (Erdödy) op.70, No.2; Quintet in E-flat op.4; Grand Septet; Quartet in F, op.18, No.1.

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05/30/2026

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05/30/2026

BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Tuesday, May 30, 1826

Beethoven needs to decide whether or not to keep the maid on. Nephew Karl comes and talks to him, telling him that he needs to speak to the maid about it, because otherwise her time is up on Thursday, and he will have no servants at all on Friday and will sit here alone. Ludwig decides to let her have a cooking trial to see whether she is satisfactory. Karl says he will come tomorrow; if the cooking trial from the maid turns out well, Karl will tell her that if she promises to behave, Uncle Ludwig will keep her on as a cook. Then we shall see what she says.

Uncle Ludwig asks whether he should pay the usual 25 florins per month. Karl doesn't think so; perhaps 15 to 18 florins at most. But Karl will see what she has to say tomorrow. He will also give Frau Schlemmer a commission to find a maid, since Uncle Ludwig will need one regardless.

Uncle Ludwig is reading Friedrich August Kanne's proposed opera libretto, Die Mainacht oder der Blocksberg. Karl rejects it: "That is no book for you." Johann Friedrich Kind, who wrote the libretto for Weber's Der Freischütz, might perhaps be able to create something good. Maybe a Greek subject.

Karl says, "I'll leave now, as I still have much to write and do. I'll see you tomorrow after 12 o'clock. If there are some letters to be written, I shall conduct my office as secretary. You can take it easy concerning the housekeeping; Frau Schlemmer also does everything she can to find someone. So, it won't matter if the maid is also leaving.

Uncle Ludwig asks when Karl will be there tomorrow; he says around 12:30. Uncle Ludwig thinks that if the maid's cooking trial fails, he could hire Elise Seidl, who was interviewed the other day. He asks Karl what her address is, and Karl writes it down for him.

Before Karl can leave, unpaid assistant Karl Holz arrives briefly. He has been to see publisher Mathias Artaria. Anton Halm [who arranged the Grosse Fuge for four hands piano, but Beethoven disapproved of his work] is supposed to come see Beethoven [presumably to see if there is a way to salvage Halm's arrangement], and Artaria asks when it would be convenient for him to stop by. He very urgently wants to publish a 4-hand arrangement of the Fugue.

Karl says he has to go; he has to work together with one of his classmates on a project, but he assures his uncle that right now he's going straight home, and he'll go to the classmate later. Before he can leave, Uncle Ludwig asks whether the letter to Schott's that he dictated on May 20 ever got mailed. Karl tells him that it was sent long ago.

Conversation Book 110, 45v-47r.

Pianist Dorothea Ertmann and her husband arrive in Vienna today, according to the June 1, 1826 Wiener Zeitung Arrivals column. She will remain there until September 16, and will be in contact with Beethoven over the summer.

Carl Maria von Weber, terminally ill with tuberculosis, makes his final public appearance today in London, at a concert given by Mary Ann Paton. He decides to leave London on June 6, after a benefit performance of Der Freischütz at Covent Garden.

At the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the melodrama Bianca e Gernando by Vincenzo Bellini is premiered in front of the royal family, on the name day of King Fernando. It will receive 25 performances this season, and later be staged under the name Bianca e Fernando.

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