Beethoven und England : eine biographische Studie zu den vielfältigen Beziehungen des Komponisten zu englischen Musikern, Verlegern und Konzertveranstaltern als Beitrag zum Verständnis des sozial und ökonomisch begründeten Wandels des europäischen Musiklebens um 1800 mit einem Katalog aller bis 1827 in England erschienenen Drucke / eingereicht von Michael Wruß

• VerfasserIn: Wruß, Michael
• Place / Publishing House: 2001
• Year of Publication: 2001
• Language: German
• Physical Description: IX, 439 Bl.; Ill., graph. Darst., Notenbeisp.

eng: Beethoven and England is a biographical study on the various contacts of the composer to English musicians, publishers and musical societies with an catalogue of the prints which were published until 1827. The first chapter gives a general view of the situation of music and musicians in England and especially in London between 1800 and 1830. The question is what kind of music was preferred and in which way it was performed. The next chapter concerning the relationship to the editor George Thomson in Edinburgh is more a biographical study rather documenting the correspondence than analyzing the artistic output. Some new documents allowed to rewrite this chapter of Beethoven's relationship to England. Another important part of the connections with English musicians were negotiations with the Royal Philharmonic Society, which were supported by his former pupil Ferdinand Ries and English musicians like Charles Neate and Sir George Smart. It was of course not a great financial success but Ries and his colleagues in the function of directors of the Philharmonic Society did their managing job as well that Beethoven's compositions became the most often played works in the concerts of the society from its beginning on. Of great importance are also the contacts to British Publishers. Those also were not very successful concerning the payment to Beethoven because most of the prints were published without the knowledge of the composer. The very few authentic editions are of course not so important as e.g. the collection of Beethoven's piano music in 75 volumes edited by Monzany & Hill. Only the huge number of approx. 500 unauthorized publications created Beethoven's fame. During some convolutes I could find exemplars of prints that were said to be lost or never produced (Kinsky-Halm, A. Tyson, etc.). Therefore the catalogue of British prints from 1800 to Beethoven's death is the most up-to-date and most complete register. The final résumé connects the three levels of Beethoven's relations to England - George Thomson and the folksong settings, the Philharmonic Society and its directors and the publishers in London - and tries to find out if this kind of economic and managing quality might be the beginning of a new era in Europe's musical business.