JF Ptak Science Books Post 1663
On how to end a letter.
I've read pieces of Thayer's Beethoven, and parts of the Conversation Books (the collections of rough notebooks that visitors used for written communication with the Master (1770-1827) once his hearing got too far away from him), as well as pieces of his journals and letters--which seem to me to be the most interesting part of reading about the man. I find his writing style to be formal but surprisingly easy, and I'm continually enchanted by his valedictions--the way in which he signed-off a letter. The man could leave you with a nice thought, especially in the way where he would begin his last sentence and incorporate that in his closing:
(1795--to Franz Wegeler) "I shall come to you myself and throw myself into your arms, imploring you to restore my lost friend, and you will give yourself to me, to your penitent, affectionate, never-forgetting,/ Beethoven once again"
The sentiments seem fast and genuine and seem to be out-of-place with the man's big, semi-unsure handwriting, which looks as though his efforts were accompanied by grunts while writing. But his letters are really quite beautiful things, and a very interesting read; and as I said, the way in which he sent his letters off into space, the way he closed them, is exceptional and artistic.
And so some examples:
(1787) "Your obedient servant and friend/"
(1793) "Your true and admiring friend/"
(1793) "Think occasionally of your still true and admiring friend/"
(1794--to Schenk) "Farewell, and do not entirely forget your/"
(1795--to Franz Wegeler) "I shall come to you myself and throw myself into your arms, imploring you to restore my lost friend, and you will give yourself to me, to your penitent, affectionate, never-forgetting,/ Beethoven once again"
(1798) You will find Schuppanzigh here as well and the two of us will tease, cuff and shake you to your heart's delight, a kiss from your Beethoven...
(1800--to Wegeler) "Always rely on the love as well as the friendship of your BEETHOVEN"
(1800) "Sometimes recall your truly admiring/Beethoven"
(1800, to Franz Anton Hoffmesiter) ) "I hope that we shall often have occasion to assure one another how truly you ar emy friend and how I am/Your brother and friend/L v. Beethoven.
(1800) "Always rely on the love as well as the friendship of your/"
(1800--to Pastor Amenda) "Now, farewell, my dear kind friend! If by any chance I can serve you here, I need not say that you have only to command me. Your faithful and truly attached/"
(1800--to Wegeler) "Rest assured of the love and friendship of your/"
(1800--to Pastor Amenda) "Farewell, beloved, good, and noble friend! Ever continue your love and friendship towards me, just as I shall ever be your faithful/"
(1801) "With great respect, I am your devoted/"
(1802) "If you should think of any favor I might do you here, it goes without saying that you yourself will at once inform/Your faithful, truly affectionate, Beethoven"
(1802) "Farewell, my dear, faithful Wegeler, rest assured of the love and friendship of your/"
(1802) "Even unto death, your faithful/"
(1806) "Remain well disposed towards your friend/"
(1807) "Farewell and do not forget your true friend/"
(1808) "Friend Beethoven embraces you all"
(1808) I embrace you with all my heart and am your faithful friend/"
(1809--to Zmekskall) "I come without any card from you, but I hope you will not on that account discard me. Yours truly--most truly, L. V. BEETHOVEN"
(1810--to Wegeler) "Think of me with kindness, little as I apparently deserve it. Embrace your dear wife and children, and all whom you love, in the name of your friend,/"
(1810--to Zmeksall) "Ever remain my friend, as much as I am yours,"
(1816--to G. Del Rio) "God, however, directs all things; so my position may undergo a favorable change, when I shall hasten to show you how truly I am, with sincere esteem, your grateful friend, / "
(1817) "We have the honor to remain, most astounding Lieutenant-General! your devoted/GENERALISSIMUS" (Beethoven sometimes signed himself this way.)
(1820, to Therese Makfatti) "Think of me, and gladly, forget my follies, rest assured: no one can wish your life to be more carefree, even more cheerful than I do, even if you should feel no concern at all for your most devoted devoted servant and friend/Beethoven"
(1824--to B. Schott's sons) "In greatest haste, with greatest urgency and yet with the greatest brevity, your / "
(1824--to Nageli) "I embrace you as one of the wise men of Apollo, cordially yours /"
(1825--to a copyist) "Well, look after yourself. A thousand thanks for your devotion and kindness t me. I hope you will not be punished for them. / Yours, with love and friendship, / "
(1825--to Karl van Beethoven, his dead brother's son and legal ward, and legacy of a complicated relationship) "May God grant my wishes, for never again shall I be capable of suffering on your account./ Unfortunately your father/or rather not/ Your Father"
(1826--to Tobias Haslinger) "With the most reverential reverence and fidelity, yours, / "
(1827--to B. Schott's sons) "Pity your devoted and respectful friend, / "
(1827--to Pasqualati) "May Heaven bless you generally and for your affectionate concerns, / With your respectful,/ suffering Beethoven"
(1810, to Archduke Rudolph) "Well, it really makes me laugh to think how Your Imperial Highness consider me even on this occasion; for this, assuredly, my whole life long I shall remain, Your most obliging servant, /"
One of the valedictions in the "series" of letters to his famous and as-yet-unknown2 "Immortal Beloved" in July 1812 goes so:
"be calm - love me - today - yesterday - What yearning with tears for you - you - you my life – my everything - farewell - oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your Beloved/ L"
and also:
(1807, to Josephine Brunsvik) “never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved L”
And of course he could start a letter, too, as we can see here in his start of the towering love letter to his Immortal Beloved (above):
"My angel, my everything, my very self. – only a few words today, and in pencil (with yours) - I shall not be certain of my rooms here until tomorrow – what an unnecessary waste of time - why this deep grief, where necessity speaks - can our love exist but by sacrifices, by not demanding everything. Can you change it, that you are not completely mine, that I am not completely yours? Oh God, look upon beautiful Nature and calm your mind about what must be – love demands everything and completely with good reason, that is how it is for me with you, and for you with me - only you forget too easily, that I must live for myself and for you as well, if we were wholly united, you would not feel this as painfully, just as little as I would – my journey was terrible..."
But we'll leave the beginnings to another post.
[Sources: Michael Hamburger, Beethoven Letters, Journals and Conversations, Anchor Books, 1960; and Lady Wallace's Beethoven's Letters, 1790-1826, volume 1 of 2, 2004, at Project Gutenberg.]
Notes:
1. Valediction from the Oxford English Dictionary
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