Beethoven and the Spider

[Michael]

In several books, I have come across references to Beethoven and a "spider" but I cannot find the actual story (or legend) anywhere. Even Thayer refers to it as follows:

That the violin as well as the pianoforte was practised by him is implicitly confirmed by the terms in which Schindler records his denial of the truth of the well-known spider story. "The great Ludwig refused to remember any such incident much as the tale amused him. On the contrary, he said it was more to be expected that everything would have fled from his scraping, even flies and spiders."

So it seems there was some story concerning a spider circulating during Beethoven's lifetime. Does anybody know the tale? (And no jokes about the world wide web, please!)

[Megan]

Michael, I am wondering if this could be a reference to it on this site I came across.

"The Itsy Bitsy Spider." It contains the same lesson of defeat and resurrection as the Choral Symphony. A small spider, attempting to crawl up a narrow, dangerous passageway, is thwarted and nearly drowned. Does the spider despair? No, it climbs up the waterspout again — and this time succeeds. Or if it fails, the song makes no mention of it.
Each story, Beethoven's and the little spider's, is about two aspects of human experience that are paramount in Fulghum's view — a quality of yearning and the potential for fulfillment.




http://mfinley.com/experts/fulghum/Fulghum_Precis.htm





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[Megan]

Actually, I have found this, from Alessandra Comini's book, on the changing image of Beethoven.
I am afraid I was unable to make a copy of the quote from the book.

A story Schindler also labeled as a 'pretty little fable', about Beethoven's childhood , that when young Ludwig was playing on his violin in his room , a spider decended from the cieling and landed on the instrument. When his mother discovered it, she killed it, whereupon Ludwig smashed his violin to bits.

Paragraph begining, 'The wretched Schlosser biography'.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=h...spider&f=false

[Michael]

Actually, I have found this, from Alessandra Comini's book, on the changing image of Beethoven.
I am afraid I was unable to make a copy of the quote from the book.

A story Schindler also labeled as a 'pretty little fable', about Beethoven's childhood , that when young Ludwig was playing on his violin in his room , a spider decended from the cieling and landed on the instrument. When his mother discovered it, she killed it, whereupon Ludwig smashed his violin to bits.

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Yes, Megan, that sounds like our Ludwig - thrashing his instrument centuries before the Who did it on stage!
The story fits in with what Beethoven was supposed to have said to Schindler (above). Thanks!

[Megan]

Yes, Megan, that sounds like our Ludwig - thrashing his instrument centuries before the Who did it on stage!
The story fits in with what Beethoven was supposed to have said to Schindler (above). Thanks!

I agree , the story would fit.

But don't you think if Ludwig really smashed his violin up, his father would have given him a good old fashioned clip round the ear'ole.

[Michael]

According to legend, he gave him too many clips around the ear'hole! But other sources say that Johann was an amiable drunk and not at all like the villain he is normally portrayed as. There are stories of his children coaxing him home from his local pub, saying things like "Come on Papa" and so on.

So much is lost in the mists of time. My son has just got his doctorate in medieval literature and he assures me that nobody really knows what exactly happened in olden times. (You don't have to go that far back: just look at the Kennedy assassination and you will find a hundred conflicting accounts.)

I occasionally argue with my wife about what happened last week. But that could be Alzheimer's.

So, I'm afraid, Megan, that the lovely spider story was pure fiction. It could have been a wasp.

[Megan]

Michael quote -
So, I'm afraid, Megan, that the lovely spider story was pure fiction. It could have been a wasp.


Come to think of it, I am sure that it was ludwig's mother that smashed the violin chasing his pet mouse round the room.



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[Megan]

Ludwig used to let his pet mice run up and down the piano keys, so that is father in the other room, thought that his little Ludwig was practicing his scales.

[Michael]

Maybe that's why, in later life, Ludwig suffered from disney spells.

[Peter]

Maybe that's why, in later life, Ludwig suffered from disney spells.

Just think of what he could have done with a cat as well - Tom and Jerry! Tom was of course a wonderful virtuoso and actually inspired Lang Lang to learn piano.

[Michael]

Just think of what he could have done with a cat as well - Tom and Jerry! Tom was of course a wonderful virtuoso and actually inspired Lang Lang to learn piano.

Really? I know that, in the early days, Disney brought out some cartoons called "Silly Symphonies" or something, which featured well-known classical works.