Josephine Brunsvik
Encyclopedia
Josephine Brunsvik was probably the most important woman in the life of Ludwig van Beethoven
, as documented by at least 15 love letters he wrote her where he called her his “only beloved”, being “eternally devoted” to her and “forever faithful”. Given that there is no other similar evidence that he might have been in love with any other woman, she is generally considered to be the most likely recipient of the mysterious “Letter to the Immortal Beloved
”.
in Slovakia
), then part of the Kingdom of Hungary
. Her father Anton died in 1792, leaving his wife Anna (née von Seeberg) with four young children; the other three were Therese, the first-born (1775–1861), Franz, the only son and sole heir (1777–1849), and Charlotte (1782–1843). The Brunsviks lived in a magnificent castle in Martonvásár near Budapest
; the family also had a castle in Korompa (Dolna Krupa
in Slovakia
).
The children grew up enjoying an education by private teachers, studying languages and classic literature; all four turned out to be talented musicians: Franz became a distinguished violoncellist, the girls excelled at the piano – most of all, Josephine. They admired especially the music of Ludwig van Beethoven
, who during the 1790s had established himself as a star pianist in the Austrian capital of Vienna
.
In May 1799, Anna brought Therese and Josephine to Vienna
to ask Beethoven to give her daughters piano lessons. Beethoven later admitted that he had to suppress his love of Josephine,, and she felt “enthusiastic” about him. However, it was to the much older Joseph Count Deym (born 1752) to whom she was given in marriage – her mother needed a wealthy son-in-law of equal social standing. After some initial (mainly financial) difficulties, the Deyms developed a reasonably happy relationship, and Beethoven, continuing as Josephine’s piano teacher, was a regular visitor. Josephine gave birth to three children in quick succession, and was pregnant with the fourth, when Count Deym died suddenly of pneumonia in January 1804.
Josephine replied in kind (none of her letters survived, only a few drafts she kept), but she was obviously keen to keep the affair a secret. Beethoven composed the Song “An die Hoffnung” [To Hope] Op. 32 and the piano piece Andante favori WoO 57, a musical declaration of love, especially for Josephine.
The Brunsvik family increased the pressure to terminate the relationship. She could not contemplate marrying Beethoven, a commoner, for the simple reason that she would have lost the guardianship of her aristocratic children.
Towards the end of 1807, Josephine began to yield to the pressure by her family and withdrew from Beethoven; she was not at home when he came to see her. This was later misinterpreted as a “cooling down” of her love. However, Beethoven would later remind her of this when he, perhaps, implored her in his letter to the "Immortal Beloved
": "but – but never hide yourself from me".
, to find a teacher for Josephine’s two school-age sons. The man recommended to them was the Estonian Baron Christoph von Stackelberg (1777–1841), who joined them on their return trip to Austria, via Geneva, southern France and Italy. During the winter of 1808/9 they crossed the Alps, and Josephine became seriously ill several times. From later diary notes by Therese and a letter by Stackelberg in 1815, it appears that Josephine was too weak to resist his amorous advances – with the result that she was pregnant when the two sisters returned, with Stackelberg, to Hungary in the Summer of 1809.
Stackelberg, as a stranger, of lower rank, and not a Catholic, was immediately rejected by the status-conscious Brunsviks. Josephine's first child by Stackelberg, Maria Laura, was born in secret (December 1809). Mother Anna von Brunsvik very reluctantly gave her written consent to the marriage, not only to give the baby a father, but also because Stackelberg threatened to discontinue the education of the Deym children otherwise. The wedding took place in February 1810 in Gran
(Esztergom
), a small Hungarian country town, and without any guests.
Josephine’s second marriage was unhappy from day one, and it only got worse. After a second daughter Theophile was born (exactly nine months after the wedding), she was ill again, and in 1811 Josephine decided not to sleep with Stackelberg any more. The couple also had strong disagreements about the methods of education. But the final straw, indeed the main reason for the irreversible breakdown, was the failed purchase of an expansive estate in Witschapp, Moravia
, that Stackelberg could not manage to finance, and it resulted in their complete financial ruin.
According to her diary entries in June 1812, Josephine clearly intended to go to Prague. At this stage, however, her and her sister Therese’s diaries ended abruptly and did not continue until about two months later.
Meanwhile, Beethoven traveled to Teplitz via Prague, where, on 3 July 1812, he must have met a woman he subsequently called his “Immortal Beloved
” in a letter written on 6/7 July (which he kept to himself).
Josephine’s main concern was to retain the custodianship of her four children by Deym, and she managed to find a new modus vivendi with her estranged husband in August 1812. The main point of this new marriage contract was that Stackelberg had it in writing that he could leave her any time – which he subsequently did when a daughter, Minona, was born on 8 April 1813 (it is possible that he suspected that she could not have been his child).
– instead he went to travel the world again, having dumped them at a deacon’s place in Bohemia
.
Josephine, alone and increasingly ailing, “hired the dubious mathematics teacher Andrian [Karl Eduard von Andrehan-Werburg] ... she gradually fell under his charismatic spell, becoming pregnant and giving birth to Emilie [on 16 September 1815], hiding in a hut.” Meanwhile, Stackelberg had made an inheritance (a brother had died), and he came to Vienna
in April 1815 to fetch Josephine. Being pregnant and due to the long since irreparably broken relationship, she was not interested. Stackelberg reacted by writing her a long letter indicating how much he “despised” her, and he also went to the police to slander her: a police report on 30 June 1815 about Josephine’s “reputation” was possibly based on Stackelberg’s report of an alleged incestuous incident among her children.
Josephine then threw out Andrian, who took over his illegitimate daughter and raised her alone (she died two years later of the measles). But as if this series of traumatic incidents was not enough, more heartbreak was to follow: Dechant Franz Leyer in Trautenau wrote her on 29 December 1815 that he had her three young daughters in his custody, but Stackelberg had long since stopped sending any money. Josephine and Therese – excited to hear of them again after almost two years - scraped together as much money as they could and sent it to Leyer, who soon after suggested they should take the children home to their mother where they belonged, given that their father was gone missing. Fate would have it that just when Josephine was certain to finally see her children again, Christoph von Stackelberg’s brother Otto turned up in Trautenau, to take them away.
There is evidence that both Josephine and Beethoven were in Baden in the summer of 1816 where they most likely met, and it even seems that they had planned it: Josephine had requested a passport to travel to the German spa of Bad Pyrmont
, but she did not go there, after all. Intriguingly, in August 1816, Beethoven made an entry in his Diary: “not to P – t, but with P. - discuss the best way how to arrange it.”
Josephine Countess von Brunsvik died on 31 March 1821. During this year, Beethoven composed his very last Piano Sonatas Op. 110 and Op. 111, believed by many musicologists to be clearly like requiems, with discernible reminiscences to "Josephine's Theme", the Andante favori.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, as documented by at least 15 love letters he wrote her where he called her his “only beloved”, being “eternally devoted” to her and “forever faithful”. Given that there is no other similar evidence that he might have been in love with any other woman, she is generally considered to be the most likely recipient of the mysterious “Letter to the Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
”.
First Marriage
Josephine Countess von Brunsvik was born on 28 March 1779 in Preßburg (now BratislavaBratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
), then part of the Kingdom of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Her father Anton died in 1792, leaving his wife Anna (née von Seeberg) with four young children; the other three were Therese, the first-born (1775–1861), Franz, the only son and sole heir (1777–1849), and Charlotte (1782–1843). The Brunsviks lived in a magnificent castle in Martonvásár near Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
; the family also had a castle in Korompa (Dolna Krupa
Dolná Krupá
Dolná Krupá is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava region of Slovakia. It is located in the Danubian Hills at around 12 km from the city of Trnava.The important sights in the village are:* the Saint Andrew church, built in 1807-1811...
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
).
The children grew up enjoying an education by private teachers, studying languages and classic literature; all four turned out to be talented musicians: Franz became a distinguished violoncellist, the girls excelled at the piano – most of all, Josephine. They admired especially the music of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, who during the 1790s had established himself as a star pianist in the Austrian capital of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In May 1799, Anna brought Therese and Josephine to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to ask Beethoven to give her daughters piano lessons. Beethoven later admitted that he had to suppress his love of Josephine,, and she felt “enthusiastic” about him. However, it was to the much older Joseph Count Deym (born 1752) to whom she was given in marriage – her mother needed a wealthy son-in-law of equal social standing. After some initial (mainly financial) difficulties, the Deyms developed a reasonably happy relationship, and Beethoven, continuing as Josephine’s piano teacher, was a regular visitor. Josephine gave birth to three children in quick succession, and was pregnant with the fourth, when Count Deym died suddenly of pneumonia in January 1804.
Widowhood
Beethoven continued to see the young widow frequently (rather too frequently as sister Charlotte soon observed, and he wrote her more and more passionate love letters (of which 15 survived, though not published before 1957).Josephine replied in kind (none of her letters survived, only a few drafts she kept), but she was obviously keen to keep the affair a secret. Beethoven composed the Song “An die Hoffnung” [To Hope] Op. 32 and the piano piece Andante favori WoO 57, a musical declaration of love, especially for Josephine.
The Brunsvik family increased the pressure to terminate the relationship. She could not contemplate marrying Beethoven, a commoner, for the simple reason that she would have lost the guardianship of her aristocratic children.
Towards the end of 1807, Josephine began to yield to the pressure by her family and withdrew from Beethoven; she was not at home when he came to see her. This was later misinterpreted as a “cooling down” of her love. However, Beethoven would later remind her of this when he, perhaps, implored her in his letter to the "Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
": "but – but never hide yourself from me".
Second Marriage
In 1808, Therese joined her sister on a long journey that led them to Yverdon in Switzerland where they met the famous educator PestalozziPestalozzi
Pestalozzi may refer to:* Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi * Hans A. Pestalozzi Schools with that name:* Colegio Pestalozzi, Argentina* Pestalozzi-Gymnasium Biberach, Germany* Kinderdorf Pestalozzi, Switzerland...
, to find a teacher for Josephine’s two school-age sons. The man recommended to them was the Estonian Baron Christoph von Stackelberg (1777–1841), who joined them on their return trip to Austria, via Geneva, southern France and Italy. During the winter of 1808/9 they crossed the Alps, and Josephine became seriously ill several times. From later diary notes by Therese and a letter by Stackelberg in 1815, it appears that Josephine was too weak to resist his amorous advances – with the result that she was pregnant when the two sisters returned, with Stackelberg, to Hungary in the Summer of 1809.
Stackelberg, as a stranger, of lower rank, and not a Catholic, was immediately rejected by the status-conscious Brunsviks. Josephine's first child by Stackelberg, Maria Laura, was born in secret (December 1809). Mother Anna von Brunsvik very reluctantly gave her written consent to the marriage, not only to give the baby a father, but also because Stackelberg threatened to discontinue the education of the Deym children otherwise. The wedding took place in February 1810 in Gran
Gran
-Places:*Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and primatial seat of Hungary.*Gran, Norway-Other:*Widely used, predominantly British abbreviation for grandmother*Gran children's animation from the early 80's...
(Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
), a small Hungarian country town, and without any guests.
Josephine’s second marriage was unhappy from day one, and it only got worse. After a second daughter Theophile was born (exactly nine months after the wedding), she was ill again, and in 1811 Josephine decided not to sleep with Stackelberg any more. The couple also had strong disagreements about the methods of education. But the final straw, indeed the main reason for the irreversible breakdown, was the failed purchase of an expansive estate in Witschapp, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, that Stackelberg could not manage to finance, and it resulted in their complete financial ruin.
1812
After many lost law-suits, nerve-wracking disputes and arguments that left Josephine in a desperate state of mind, Stackelberg left her (probably in June 1812, supposedly due to a sudden religious impetus, to find consolation in prayer and pious contemplation). This did not help Josephine, who needed money urgently, and she was in any case agonizing and suffering.According to her diary entries in June 1812, Josephine clearly intended to go to Prague. At this stage, however, her and her sister Therese’s diaries ended abruptly and did not continue until about two months later.
Meanwhile, Beethoven traveled to Teplitz via Prague, where, on 3 July 1812, he must have met a woman he subsequently called his “Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
” in a letter written on 6/7 July (which he kept to himself).
Josephine’s main concern was to retain the custodianship of her four children by Deym, and she managed to find a new modus vivendi with her estranged husband in August 1812. The main point of this new marriage contract was that Stackelberg had it in writing that he could leave her any time – which he subsequently did when a daughter, Minona, was born on 8 April 1813 (it is possible that he suspected that she could not have been his child).
Separation
In 1814, Stackelberg turned up again to pick up “his” children (including Minona). Josephine refused, so he called the police to remove the three toddlers forcefully. However, as it turned out, Stackelberg did not take the children to his home in EstoniaEstonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
– instead he went to travel the world again, having dumped them at a deacon’s place in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
Josephine, alone and increasingly ailing, “hired the dubious mathematics teacher Andrian [Karl Eduard von Andrehan-Werburg] ... she gradually fell under his charismatic spell, becoming pregnant and giving birth to Emilie [on 16 September 1815], hiding in a hut.” Meanwhile, Stackelberg had made an inheritance (a brother had died), and he came to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in April 1815 to fetch Josephine. Being pregnant and due to the long since irreparably broken relationship, she was not interested. Stackelberg reacted by writing her a long letter indicating how much he “despised” her, and he also went to the police to slander her: a police report on 30 June 1815 about Josephine’s “reputation” was possibly based on Stackelberg’s report of an alleged incestuous incident among her children.
Josephine then threw out Andrian, who took over his illegitimate daughter and raised her alone (she died two years later of the measles). But as if this series of traumatic incidents was not enough, more heartbreak was to follow: Dechant Franz Leyer in Trautenau wrote her on 29 December 1815 that he had her three young daughters in his custody, but Stackelberg had long since stopped sending any money. Josephine and Therese – excited to hear of them again after almost two years - scraped together as much money as they could and sent it to Leyer, who soon after suggested they should take the children home to their mother where they belonged, given that their father was gone missing. Fate would have it that just when Josephine was certain to finally see her children again, Christoph von Stackelberg’s brother Otto turned up in Trautenau, to take them away.
There is evidence that both Josephine and Beethoven were in Baden in the summer of 1816 where they most likely met, and it even seems that they had planned it: Josephine had requested a passport to travel to the German spa of Bad Pyrmont
Bad Pyrmont
-External links:* * -Multimedia:*...
, but she did not go there, after all. Intriguingly, in August 1816, Beethoven made an entry in his Diary: “not to P – t, but with P. - discuss the best way how to arrange it.”
The End
Josephine’s life ended in increasing agony and misery: the four Deym children, now teenagers, went their own ways (the boys joined the military, to the horror of their bed-ridden mother), the three daughters of the marriage with Stackelberg were gone, sister Therese withdrew, brother Franz stopped sending money, as did Mother Anna who wrote Josephine a letter telling her that it was all her own fault...Josephine Countess von Brunsvik died on 31 March 1821. During this year, Beethoven composed his very last Piano Sonatas Op. 110 and Op. 111, believed by many musicologists to be clearly like requiems, with discernible reminiscences to "Josephine's Theme", the Andante favori.
Sources
- Beahrs, Virginia (1986): "The Immortal Beloved Revisited." The Beethoven Newsletter 1/2 (Summer), pp. 22–24.
- Beahrs, Virginia Oakley (1988): "The Immortal Beloved Riddle Reconsidered." Musical Times, Vol. 129, No. 1740 (Feb.), pp. 64–70.
- Beahrs, Virginia (1993): "Beethoven's Only beloved? New Perspectives on the Love Story of the Great Composer." Music Review 54, no. 3/4, pp. 183-197.
- Brandenburg, Sieghard (1996, ed.): Ludwig van Beethoven: Briefwechsel. Gesamtausgabe. [Ludwig van Beethoven: Letters & Correspondence. Complete Edition.] 8 vols. Munich: Henle.
- Czeke, Marianne (1938): Brunszvik Teréz grófno naplói és feljegyzései, vol. 1. [Countess Therese Brunsvik's Diaries and Notes.] Budapest.
- Dahlhaus, Carl (1991): Ludwig van Beethoven: Approaches to his Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Goldschmidt, Harry (1977): Um die Unsterbliche Geliebte. Ein Beethoven-Buch. [About the Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
. A Beethoven Book.] Leipzig: Deutscher Verlag für Musik. - Kaznelson, Siegmund (1954): Beethovens Ferne und Unsterbliche Geliebte. [Beethoven's Distant and Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
.] Zürich: Standard. - La Mara (1909) (Ida Marie LipsiusIda Marie LipsiusIda Marie Lipsius, alias La Mara was a German writer and music historian.- Life :...
): Beethovens Unsterbliche Geliebte. Das Geheimnis der Gräfin Brunsvik und ihre Memoiren. [Beethoven’s Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
. Countess Brunsvik’s Secret and her Memoirs]. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. - La Mara (1920) (Ida Marie LipsiusIda Marie LipsiusIda Marie Lipsius, alias La Mara was a German writer and music historian.- Life :...
): Beethoven und die Brunsviks. Nach Familienpapieren aus Therese Brunsviks Nachlaß. [Beethoven and the Brunsviks. According to Family Documents from Therese Brunsvik's Estate.] Leipzig: Siegel. - Massin, Jean & Brigitte (1970): Recherche de Beethoven. Paris: Fayard.
- Pichler, Ernst (1994): Beethoven. Mythos und Wirklichkeit. [Beethoven. Myth and Reality.] Vienna: Amalthea.
- Riezler, Walter (1962): Beethoven. Zürich: Atlantis (8th ed.). First published in 1936 (in German).
- Schmidt-Görg, Joseph (1957, ed.): Beethoven: Dreizehn unbekannte Briefe an Josephine Gräfin Deym geb. v. Brunsvik. [Beethoven: Thirteen Unknown Letters to Josephine Countess Deym née von Brunsvik.] Bonn: Beethoven-Haus. (Also contains several letters by Josephine.)
- Skwara, Dagmar/Steblin, RitaRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2007): "Ein Brief Christoph Freiherr von Stackelbergs an Josephine Brunsvik-Deym-Stackelberg." [A Letter by Christoph Baron von Stackelberg to Josephine Brunsvik-Deym-Stackelberg.] Bonner Beethoven-Studien, vol. 6, pp. 181–187. - SolomonMaynard SolomonMaynard Solomon has carried out a multiple career: he was a co-founder of Vanguard Records as well as a music producer, and later became a writer on music.-Career in the recording industry:...
, Maynard (2005, ed.): Beethovens Tagebuch 1812-1818. [Beethoven's Diary 1812-1818.] Bonn: Beethoven-Haus. - SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2002): "Josephine Gräfin Brunswick-Deyms Geheimnis enthüllt: Neue Ergebnisse zu ihrer Beziehung zu Beethoven." [Josephine Countess Brunsvik-Deym's Secret Revealed: New Results about her Relationship to Beethoven.] Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 57/6 (June), pp. 23–31. - SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2002): A History of Key Characteristics in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries. 2nd ed. (1st ed. 1983). University of Rochester Press. - SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2007): "'Auf diese Art mit A geht alles zugrunde.' A New Look at Beethoven's Diary Entry and the "Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
." Bonner Beethoven-Studien, vol. 6, pp. 147–180. - SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2009): "Beethovens 'Unsterbliche Geliebte': des Rätsels Lösung." [Beethoven's "Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
": the Riddle Solved.] Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 64/2, pp. 4–17. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1983): Beethoven und seine "Unsterbliche Geliebte" Josephine Brunswick. Ihr Schicksal und der Einfluß auf Beethovens Werk. [Beethoven and his “Immortal BelovedImmortal BelovedImmortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
” Josephine Brunsvik. Her Fate and the Impact on Beethoven's Œuvre.] Zürich: Atlantis. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1987): "Beethoven and the Countess Josephine Brunswick." The Beethoven Newsletter 2/3, pp. 41-51.
- Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1988): "Künstler und Ständegesellschaft um 1800: die Rolle der Vormundschaftsgesetze in Beethovens Beziehung zu Josephine Gräfin Deym." [Artists and the Class Society in 1800: the Role of Guardianship Laws in Beethoven’s Relationship to Josephine Countess Deym.] Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte 2/2, pp. 253-263.
External links
- De Beethovensite. Alles over Ludwig van Beethoven. All in Dutch, except for the first page which has a few FAQs answered in English.
- http://www.lvbeethoven.com/ Very comprehensive "Euro" website in French/English/Spanish/Italian.
- The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page Info about each song's lyrics (often in multiple translations), origin, other versions, many interesting details.
- Unheard Beethoven Very good to find out about recordings of less well-known works – there are, after all, according to the latest Biamonti Catalogue, nearly 1000 of them.
- http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven–Revised–Maynard–Solomon/product–reviews/ Maynard Solomon: Beethoven, 2nd ed.
- 24 Jul 2011 Michael Lorenz about "Für Elise".
- Beethoven's Only Beloved: Josephine!