Quotes

[Joy]

It must be time to start another Quotes page as the other one is five pages long!
Let's start it off with this quote from an anonymous contributor.

“Music, art, & poetry have a connection to love“.


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'Truth and beauty joined'

[spaceray]

"I know that the twelve notes in each octave and the varieties of rhythm offer me opportunities that all of human genius will never exhaust ." Igor Stravinsky

[Amalie]

"Continue to translate yourself to the
heaven of art; there is no more undisturbed, unmixed, purer happiness
than may thus be attained"

~ Beethoven ~ Aug.1817

[Amalie]

"My 'Fidelio' was not understood by the public, but I know that it will be appreciated; for though I was well aware of the value of my 'Fidelio' I know just as well that the symphony is my real element.
When sounds ring in me I always here the full orchestra; I can ask anything of instrumentalists, but when writing for the voice I must continually ask myself, "Can that be sung?"

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~ Beethoven to Griesinger, 1823 ~




[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited July 26, 2003).]

[Amalie]

"I was formely inconsiderate and hasty
in the expression of my opinions, and thereby I made enemies. Now I pass judgment on no one, and indeed, for the reason that I do not wish to do anyone harm.
Moreover, in the last instance I always think; if it is something decent it will maintain itself and in spite of all attack and envy; if there is nothing good and sound at the bottom of it, it will fall to pieces of itself, bolster it up as one may".


~ Beethoven ~

(In a conversation with Tomaschek, Oct. 1814)

[Peter]

Originally posted by Amalie:


"I was formely inconsiderate and hasty
in the expression of my opinions, and thereby I made enemies. Now I pass judgment on no one, and indeed, for the reason that I do not wish to do anyone harm.
Moreover, in the last instance I always think; if it is something decent it will maintain itself and in spite of all attack and envy; if there is nothing good and sound at the bottom of it, it will fall to pieces of itself, bolster it up as one may".


~ Beethoven ~

(In a conversation with Tomaschek, Oct. 1814)

It would have made life much happier for all including Beethoven had he remembered these words 1815-20 re.Karl and Johanna.

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'Man know thyself'

[Chaszz]

Originally posted by Peter:
It would have made life much happier for all including Beethoven had he remembered these words 1815-20 re.Karl and Johanna.

I read on another site about the philosopher Schopenhauer, who in his writings extolled compassion and renunciation of worldly desire. One day a woman friend of his neighbor was standing on the landing talking. He grew impatient with the sound of her voice and kicked her down a flight of stairs, injuring her badly! He was compelled to pay her a stipend for many years afterward.

Not that Beethoven would ever do something like this, but it's just notable how people do not follow their own precepts.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Chaszz:

Not that Beethoven would ever do something like this, but it's just notable how people do not follow their own precepts.

Puts me in mind of this anecdote by Ferdinand Ries!

"One day we were dining at the Swan; the waiter brought him the wrong dish. Beethoven had scarecly said a few choice words about it, which the waiter had answered perhaps not quite so politely as he should, when Beethoven laid hold of the dish (it was so-called "Lugenbratel" {a type of Roast beef} with lots of sauce) and flung it at the waiter's head. The poor fellow still had on his arms a large number of plates containing various dishes (a dexterity which Viennese waiters possess to a high degree) and could do nothing to help himself; the sauce ran down his face. He and Beethoven shouted and cursed at each other, while all the other guests laughed out loud. Finally Beethoven began laughing at the sight of the waiter, who lapped up with his tongue the sauce that was running down his face, tried to go on hurling insults, but had to go on lapping instead, pulling the most ludicrous faces the while, a picture worthy of Hogarth."



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'Man know thyself'

[Amalie]

Another rich quote from Ludwig;

"I never practice revenge. When I must antagonize others I do no more than is necessary to protect myself against them, or prevent them from doing further evil"


-Ludwig to Frau Streicher, in reference to the troubles which his servants gave him.

[Amalie]

Beethoven's string qauartets op.18 was published in two batches in June and October 1801 by the firm Mollo in Vienna.
In 1993 Beethoven House wa able to aquire a hand-written letter of Beethoven's, dated April 8th, 1802 and addressed to the Leipzig publishing house of Hoffmeister & Kuhnel, in which, couched in his typical verbal humour, Beethoven sarcastically finds fault with the edition;-

"Mr Mollo has again lately published my quartets: full of mistakes and printing errors - large and small, they swarm like little fish in the water, ie. endlessly - questo e un piacere per un autore - that is what I call engraving, actually my skin is full of pricks and cracks - at this beautiful presentation of my quartets [...]".

~ LvB ~

[Joy]

"I haven't a single friend; I must live alone. But well I know that God is nearer to me than to the others of my art; I associate with Him wihout fear, I have always recognized and understodd Him, and I have no fear for my music; it can meet no evil fate. Those who understand it must become free from all the miseries that the others drag with them."

To Bettina von Arnim in a letter to Goeth, May 28th, 1810.

I wonder how 'true' this quote of her letter is. Isn't she the one who fabricated a lot of Beethoven's comments and wrote them down to Goeth and others? This quote really doesn't sound much like Beethoven to me. His speaking of 'God to be nearer to him than to others' doesn't sound like something he would say it sounds rather egotistical?! And as for him "understanding Him" I don't know if this is true either, it seems to me Beethoven had a lot of questions about God and some reservations at times due to certain circumstances as well perhaps.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[This message has been edited by Joy (edited August 01, 2003).]

[Peter]

Originally posted by Joy:
"I haven't a single friend; I must live alone. But well I know that God is nearer to me than to the others of my art; I associate with Him wihout fear, I have always recognized and understodd Him, and I have no fear for my music; it can meet no evil fate. Those who understand it must become free from all the miseries that the others drag with them."

To Bettina von Arnim in a letter to Goeth, May 28th, 1810.

I wonder how 'true' this quote of her letter is. Isn't she the one who fabricated a lot of Beethoven's comments and wrote them down to Goeth and others? This quote really doesn't sound much like Beethoven to me. His speaking of 'God to be nearer to him than to others' doesn't sound like something he would say it sounds rather egotistical?! And as for him "understanding Him" I don't know if this is true either, it seems to me Beethoven had a lot of questions about God and some reservations at times due to certain circumstances as well perhaps.

Yes she was indeed prone to fantasy but her friendship with Beethoven was warm and mutual - he addressed her with the familiar 'Du'. Of her 3 letters supposedly from Beethoven, only one is thought to be genuine. Half sister of Antonie Brentano, it is interesting that she was also at one time considered to be the Immortal beloved (Beethoven met up with her in Teplitz in 1812), but this was discounted as she was with her husband Von Achim - I wonder why the same logic wasn't applied to Antonie Brentano who was also with her husband!

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'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

Originally posted by Peter:
Yes she was indeed prone to fantasy but her friendship with Beethoven was warm and mutual - he addressed her with the familiar 'Du'. Of her 3 letters supposedly from Beethoven, only one is thought to be genuine. Half sister of Antonie Brentano, it is interesting that she was also at one time considered to be the Immortal beloved (Beethoven met up with her in Teplitz in 1812), but this was discounted as she was with her husband Von Achim - I wonder why the same logic wasn't applied to Antonie Brentano who was also with her husband!

Thank you for explaining that. I have often wondered too about Antonie and her husband and why it wasn't the reasoning with them.
How do they know that the one letter from Bettina is genuine and not the others and which letter is considered to be genuine?

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Amalie]

Opposition to Adultery.

"It is one of my chief principles never to be in any other relationship than that of friendship with the wife of another man.
For I should not wish by forming any other kind of relationship to fill my heart with distrust of that woman who some day will perhaps share my fate - and thus my own action to destroy the lovliest and purist relationship"


~ Beethoven ~

[Amalie]

"Even the most sacred friendship may harbour secrets, but you ought not to
misinterpret the secret of a friend
because you cannot guess it".

~ Beethoven ~ 1808, to Frau Marie Bigot.