Schopenhauer

[AeolianHarp]

I know Beethoven read some of Kant, but did he ever read Schopenhauer?

[Peter]

Not that I'm aware of - I think his interest in Kant was primarily as a young man and his preferred reading in later life was Homer, Schiller, Goethe and Shakespeare. Schopenhauer had a much greater influence on the generation after Beethoven, Wagner in particular.

[AeolianHarp]

Not that I'm aware of - I think his interest in Kant was primarily as a young man and his preferred reading in later life was Homer, Schiller, Goethe and Shakespeare. Schopenhauer had a much greater influence on the generation after Beethoven, Wagner in particular.

Thanks Peter.

[Fredrika]

Not that I'm aware of - I think his interest in Kant was primarily as a young man and his preferred reading in later life was Homer, Schiller, Goethe and Shakespeare. Schopenhauer had a much greater influence on the generation after Beethoven, Wagner in particular.

I beg to differ on that regarding Kant - based on some of the conversational books I feel the influence pretty much stayed with him till the end of his days.

There is a very interesting entry there made by Beethoven himself, this was in February 1820 when he was composing Missa Solemnis as well as the song "Abendlied unter'm gestirntem Himmel" (=Evening song under a starry sky) WoO 150:


"Das moralische Gesetz in uns, und der gestirnte Himmel über uns" - Kant!!!

Which I would translate with my somewhat rusty German: "The moral laws in us and the starry sky/Heaven (same word in Ger) above us".

That is a rephrased quotation from the conclusion part of Critique of Practical Reason by Kant, the whole original quote goes:

Zwei Dinge erfüllen das Gemüt mit immer neuer und zunehmender Bewunderung und Ehrfurcht, je öfter und anhaltender sich das Nachdenken damit beschäftigt: Der gestirnte Himmel über mir, und das moralische Gesetz in mir.

Again roughly in Eng: "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and longer one's thoughts are occupied with them: The starry sky above me, and the moral laws in me."

It's interesting that Beethoven rephrased the quote by changing the pronoun "me" into "us". I like to think he was referring to the whole of mankind with that, as was maybe Kant as well but Beethoven chooses to use the more uniting word "us". Alle Menschen werden Brüder...

[AeolianHarp]

Thanks for that!

[Albert Gans]

Another element in this discussion: Schopenhauer did not publish his main book till 1818 (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung) and that was not a great success at the time, I understand, so the question is open whether Beethoven would have known about it.... or do I miss something here?

[AeolianHarp]

Another element in this discussion: Schopenhauer did not publish his main book till 1818 (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung) and that was not a great success at the time, I understand, so the question is open whether Beethoven would have known about it.... or do I miss something here?

Well, probably not then!