Beethoven's capital

From court musician to freelance artist

As the son of a court musician and grandson of the former court bandmaster, Beethoven soon became a court musician for the Elector of Cologne. A wunderkind career like Mozart's, which his father intended for him, could not be realised. As a 12-year-old, Beethoven already deputised for court organist Christian Gottlob Neefe. When the court band was reorganised at the change of government between Elector Maximilian Friedrich and Maximilian Franz, the 14-year-old boy was permanently employed as second court organist. His pay amounted to 150 florins; his father received 300 florins. In 1787, Beethoven was sent to Vienna for studies but had to return after only two weeks when his mother fell seriously ill.

From court musician to freelance artist

The first years in Vienna

In 1792, Beethoven went again to Vienna for studies. This time he was never to return to Bonn. Before his departure, one of his most important patrons, Count von Waldstein, signed Beethoven's album with the famous words “You shall receive Mozart's spirit from Haydn's hands”. Beethoven was granted leave of absence by the Elector and received a scholarship of 100 thalers.

In Vienna Beethoven quickly socialised with the art-loving aristocratic society of the music metropolis. His travel diary bears a few entries of his expenses during the beginning of his time in Vienna: The monthly rent for his room was 14 florins, meal and wine cost 16 florins. The 150 florins Beethoven received from the Bonn Elector were thus not enough to live on, let alone pay the rent. Various activities such as teaching and playing the piano at noble salons soon made him known as an artist and ensured the support of the nobility in later years.

In 1800, Prince Karl von Lichnowsky provided Beethoven with an annual salary of 600 florins that was to be paid until Beethoven had a regular income. In a letter to his Bonn friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Beethoven was quite optimistic, if not euphoric, about his current living conditions and wrote about the yearly payment Lichnowsky granted him until he would find a suitable position, that his compositions paid well and that between six and seven publishers were always interested in his works so that he was the one who demanded and they would pay. He mentioned his strongly economical life and that he aimed at having one day for an Academy concert each year. On 2 April 1800, Beethoven had held the first concert for his own benefit at the renowned Hofburg Theatre. Although he set great store by his independence even back then, he strove for a well-paying position. After his employment as opera composer and bandmaster at the Theatre an der Wien between 1803 and 1804 he directly applied to the Royal Court Theatre at the end of 1807. However, he asked for the exorbitant sum of 2,400 florins (even bandmaster Salieri only earned 1,200 florins) as well as the earnings from the third performance of the opera he was to compose each year. In exchange for another free work, he also wanted to use the existing premises once a year to hold a concert for his own benefit. Beethoven's application was rejected.

Beethoven's work scholarship granted by Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky and Archduke Rudolph

Conclusion of the “annuity agreement”

In the autumn of 1808 Napoleon's brother King Jerome Bonaparte of Westphalia offered Beethoven the position of bandmaster at the Kassel Court for a generous annual salary of 600 ducats. Beethoven spread this news in Vienna and quickly added that he was willing to accept. Ignaz von Gleichenstein and Countess Erdödy then made an effort to keep Beethoven in Vienna. The composer was asked to name his conditions and Gleichenstein included these in a draft agreement. Apart from 4,000 florins a year, Beethoven also demanded the right to undertake art journeys, the title of Imperial Bandmaster and an annual concert for his own benefit at the Theatre an der Wien.

The efforts were rewarded and three patrons were found to raise the sum demanded. The draft agreement was reduced to the essential and signed by Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz as well as Archduke Rudolph a few days before the indicated date as a so-called “annuity agreement”. The three signatories undertook to pay Beethoven an annual amount of 4,000 florins in bank notes (Banco-Zettel) for life unless the composer found permanent employment. It was their belief that only a man free of worries was able to compose such great and outstanding works and thus the signers decided to enable Ludwig van Beethoven to fulfil his most relevant necessities and to not inhibit his powerful genius. In exchange, Beethoven promised to stay in Vienna or at least in Austria.

Beethoven's work scholarship granted by Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky and Archduke Rudolph

Thanking the patrons

Out of gratitude, Beethoven dedicated various works to his patrons. Archduke Rudolph, the youngest son of Emperor Leopold II and brother of Emperor Franz, was one of Beethoven's piano and composition students and became the composer's most important patron. He was an excellent pianist and now and then engaged in composition activities himself. Beethoven dedicated him far more pieces than anybody else. The piano sonata op. 81a (Les Adieux) intended for him illustrates the Archduke's departure, absence and return to Vienna during the war in 1809 in three movements. On the title page of the manuscript Beethoven wrote: “The Farewell, Vienna, 4 May 1809, on the departure of his Imperial Highness the revered Archduke Rudolph”. Thus, the sonata can be seen as a piece of composed biography.

Beethoven dedicated his new string quartet op. 74 as well as the fifth and sixth symphonies to Prince Lobkowitz (also dedicated to Count Rasumowsky). Beethoven wrote the piece in the summer and autumn of 1809 while staying in Baden close to Vienna.

While Beethoven believed that his scholarship provided him with a safe foundation to fully focus on his art and be free from all material worries, reality was soon to teach him a lesson. The Napoleonic Wars devoured large sums of money. Just like during the Seven Years' War a decision was made to increase the amount of Banco-Zettel. The total circulation of bills rose from 74 million in 1797 to 1,061 million in 1811. The gap between the Banco-Zettel and the silver coins once intended for their coverage had already broadened so much that the notes could no longer be exchanged into metal money. Consequently, the Banco-Zettel continued to lose its buying power and led to a general price rise and impoverishment of large population classes.

Upon signing the agreement in the spring of 1809, Beethoven's annual salary of 4,000 florins in Banco-Zettel was equal to 1,620 florins in Convention currency (silver currency) – the salary of 600 ducats for the position at the Kassel court would have equalled 2,700 florins Convention currency. By August 1810, it only equalled 890 florins, in December, at the lowest exchange rate, only 416 florins.

Finally, the Austrian government realised that a national bankruptcy was inevitable and followed the advice of Court Chamber President Count Wallis. In 1811 all Banco-Zettel was devalued. According to the decree of Emperor Franz I from 20 February 1811, soon called “Bankrottpatent”, all circulating Banco-Zettel was to be devalued to a fifth of its face value from 15 March on and changed into “redemption coupons” for the new “Vienna currency” (W.W.) until 31 January 1812.

In order to reduce the loss of agreements under private law such as annuities, pensions etc. until the decree came into force the new value of these payments was calculated using the Banco-Zettel exchange rate valid when the agreement was signed. For this purpose, a table was developed. The value for March 1809 was 248, so the amount determined at the closing of the contract equalled the sum to be paid multiplied by 2.48.

Beethoven's work scholarship granted by Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky and Archduke Rudolph

Payout problems I

Beethoven now tried to convince his patrons to ignore the table and pay him the respective sum not in Banco-Zettel but redemption coupons. Although according to Beethoven's assurance initially all three patrons gave their consent, only Archduke Rudolph granted Beethoven the full amount.

Due to the aggravated economic conditions Prince Lobkowitz had become highly indebted. His payments to Beethoven stopped in September 1811. On 1 June 1813, his assets were put under “amicable administration”, half a year later under state administration. The Prince lost the right to dispose of his property and belongings, had to dissolve his band and leave Vienna.

In light of an imminent bankruptcy Beethoven filed a complaint against Prince Lobkowitz at the Lower Austria County Court that was allowed at first instance. On 22 October 1813, Lobkowitz was sentenced to pay the due as well as the future pensions in full face value of the Vienna currency. The opposing party then filed an appeal at the Appellate Court of Lower Austria and on 22 March 1814, Prince Lobkowitz was given the opportunity to rebut Beethoven's proof – a verbal promise of the Prince – by taking an oath. As part of his appeal Lobkowitz contacted the Emperor who, however, confirmed the decision of the Appellate Court. Because Lobkowitz refused to take an oath at court, the original verdict came into force on 19 April 1815, and Beethoven received the due sum in three instalments until the end of August of the same year.

Beethoven's work scholarship granted by Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky and Archduke Rudolph

Payout problems II

Not only for the payments from Lobkowitz did the composer have to ask the court for help but also for the payments from Prince Kinsky. Although Kinsky had ordered his cash office in January 1812 – and therefore before Beethoven asked him to ignore the table – to pay out Beethoven's salary using the table, the payments were delayed for quite a while. On 2 November 1812, Kinsky died after an equestrian accident. Beethoven now asked Princess Karoline Kinsky for a payment of the due sums in redemption coupons. The princess, unfortunately, was not able to make a decision without the consent of the guardianship authority. Eventually, Kinsky's share was determined at 1,200 florins Vienna currency from the Prince's death day onwards by the court.

The receipt refers to the first payment after the court's decision. The scholarship was to be paid in two instalments of 600 florins each. On a form, Beethoven had to issue a receipt that – apart from seal and his signature – also had to contain a certificate that the recipient of the payments was a living person (issued by a rectory serving as a registry office).

Kinsky's payments were often delayed. In order to accelerate the process, Beethoven authorised his lawyer Nepomuk Kanka who had represented him during the trial.
At first the Prague bank Ballabene was to implement the payout but Beethoven informed Kanka in a letter that Pasqualati had just told him after one month and six days that Ballabene was too influential for this matter and that he would now have to draw on his lawyer to obtain his receivables.

On 1 May 1816, Beethoven also wrote Kanka about his intention to dedicate a composition to Princess Kinsky and ask for the payments he was entitled to in a letter. Such a letter does not exist and therefore might never have been written. After the tedious negotiations regarding his salary, the composer should have known that any new try would also fail. Thus, he gave the composition the self-explanatory title “To Hope”.

Cost of living in Vienna at Beethoven's time

Composition and demand

Living conditions in Vienna at Beethoven's time were far different from today and thus cannot be compared directly. To get an objective picture, Beethoven needs to be seen within his time. The then cost of living mainly comprised expenses for food, rent and clothing. In his “New Sketch of Vienna” from 1804 contemporary Johann Pezzl concluded that the minimal expenses for a man living by himself, without any splendour or posh public office and only socialising with the middle classes amounted to 967 florins. However, if one includes theatre visits now and then and other public or private amusement, less than 1,200 florins a year are not sufficient. To be able to compare this information with today, such “amusement expenses” will have to be included. But even then 41% were still spent on food (without taking any spare time activities into account this was 52%) while modern society spends only a fifth on food. Clothing, with 19%, was significantly more expensive than today (6%), too. Unlike then we now spend more money on rent and additional costs (37% today versus 14% back then). If calculating the budget for 1809 and taking into consideration the price development for food and rent, a total of 1,600 florins results. The financial support Beethoven initially obtained from his patrons was thus more than twice the budget a middle-class man disposed of. In the most extreme years of 1816 and 1817, the composer's salary of 3,400 florins was even below Pezzl's budget of about 3,750 florins.

Pezzl's list shows why food prices were so significant. While contemporary documents of Beethoven's early Vienna years already indicate a noticeable price increase for food, the situation worsened during the occupation of Vienna by French troops in May 1809 and finally led to bottlenecks in supply. In the second half of the year food prices rose by 50%. Prices for flour, bread, meat, fish, candles, soap, beer and firewood were fixed by the government. When even these were raised, life became more and more difficult. In February a pound of beef cost 18, in September already 27 kreuzers. All other prices were adapted to the market situation and hardly affordable for the broad population.

Beethoven reports the same. To explain why he insisted on receiving his remuneration for a composition in Convention coins, he wrote publisher Breitkopf & Härtel from Leipzig that a pair of boots now cost 30 florins, a coat between 60 and 70 florins and that due to the French occupation his annual salary of 4,000 florins had lost its value and was not even worth 1,000 florins in Convention coins. In 1792 Beethoven noted 6 florins for a pair of boots, in 1810 they cost 30 florins – a five-fold price increase.

Even though the increase of food prices was far quicker and more irregular than that of rents, these were also subject to inflation and price rise. In 1816, Beethoven paid a rent to Count Lamberti that was ten times higher (1,100 florins in Vienna currency equal 5,500 florins in Banco-Zettel) than the rent he paid six years earlier at the Pasqualati house (500 florins, Banco-Zettel).

The extensive correspondence with Nannette Streicher, owner and the driving force of a leading Vienna piano manufactory shows that Beethoven often sought advice in household matters. Music publisher Tobias Haslinger, a friend of Beethoven, helped him move from his summer residence to his town residence in October 1817. It might be possible that Beethoven asked for advice on wallpaper and chest of drawers on this occasion.

Cost of living in Vienna at Beethoven's time

Food expenses

After two preceding bad harvests, the extreme inflation and price rise reached a second peak in 1817. Many food prices had doubled or even tripled. In addition, the Vienna Congress had engulfed enormous amounts. So it is not surprising that Beethoven told Johann Peter Salomon in June 1815 he was afraid of losing his salary again. At that time, 100 florins Convention coins equalled 400 florins and 50 kreuzers Vienna currency. Only around 1820 the rate stabilised at 100:250.

Because of the financial distress and his distrust that increased with his deafness, Beethoven forced his housekeepers to record their expenses in household books. All purchased items as well as their price had to be written down. Beethoven reviewed the entries, noted down how much money he had given his housekeeper and how much she had returned and finally crossed out the entire page to show it had been reviewed.

Cost of living in Vienna at Beethoven's time

Piano prices
Expenses for the nephew

The price list shown here indicates the prices for pianos by Anton Moser who was not among the first but belonged to the solid and most affordable piano manufacturers in Vienna. The different prices ranging between 40 and 80 ducats depended on the veneer used and sound range of the instrument. Cherry wood was the cheapest, mahogany the most expensive material. The sound range was either five octaves plus second or five and a half octaves. Other renowned piano makers charged 100 ducats for grand pianos with mahogany veneer and bronze fittings, Nannette Streicher sold her plain pianos for at least 66 ducats. In the mid-1820s, her plain pianos made from walnut in the form of a grand piano and with a sound range of six octaves cost around 80 ducats whereas mahogany pianos with lavish fittings and six and a half octaves started at 165 ducats. Other piano manufacturers offered rather plain square pianos for only 33 ducats.

Once in a while Beethoven acted as an “instrument agent and advisor”. It seems that he himself never had to buy one. As a famous piano player and composer, he was able to resort to loans and presents of renowned piano makers who thus achieved their intended advertising effect.

After his brother Kaspar Karl died in November 1815, Beethoven obtained custody of his nephew Karl. On 10 May 1817, Beethoven and his sister-in-law Johanna settled their dispute regarding Karl's inheritance. They agreed that Johanna would contribute half of her widow's pension to the education of her son who would receive another 2,000 florins Vienna currency from his father's inheritance. Johanna kept the house 121 in the Alservorstadt suburb. Because the relationship between the composer and his sister-in-law was quite taut, Beethoven always tried to exclude Johanna from custody of her son. A tedious legal dispute followed that lasted until 1820.

At first, Karl attended a number of different schools, among them the institute of Cajetan Giannattasio del Rio. School fees amounted to 275 florins Vienna currency per quarter. In a letter to Ferdinand Ries who wanted to arrange a charity concert for him, Beethoven wrote on 8 May 1816, that his salary of 3,400 florins in paper money was hardly enough to cover his expenses such as a rent of 1,100 florins, 900 florins for the housekeeper and up to 1,100 florins for school fees and that he planned to put up his little nephew as the school was not good. He also complained about how much one would have to earn to be able to make ends meet. Later, Karl lived with Beethoven and attended the University of Vienna before he switched to the Vienna Polytechnical Institute in 1825. Eventually, Karl opted for a military career.

Beethoven and his publishers

His sales strategies

The remunerations Beethoven received from his publishers were by far his most important source of income. His increasing deafness deprived him of another significant income source, namely performances as a musician. Thus, he became a skilful negotiator. As a composer, Beethoven wanted to remain free and independent and create timeless compositions for a worldwide audience. Ordered works were the exception; however, he offered noble patrons an exclusive right to use important pieces for a period of six to twelve months in exchange for payment before these compositions went to press. Thereafter the piece was offered to several competing publishers. Fixed one-time remunerations were set that also included the right to adapt the piece for smaller instrumentations. Apart from this, Beethoven received no additional payment. Reprints or copies of unprinted or printed works distributed by professional scribe offices did not bring him any earnings.

The publishers certainly gained quite some money with composers who received far smaller payments for their works but still had a broad target group in mind. To publish a Beethoven composition, however, also made the publisher's reputation rise. In addition, Beethoven's music enjoyed a certain constancy thus allowing large numbers of later new editions. And so it proved worthwhile even though the composer's remuneration often exceeded half of the total cost for a printed edition.

In 1809 Beethoven sold a collection of works to his preferred Leipzig music publishing house Breitkopf & Härtel, comprising the oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives”, op. 85, the opera “Leonore”, op. 72 and the Mass in C major, op. 86, for a total fee of 250 florins Convention currency. As opposed to the agreement, the remuneration was paid in Banco-Zettel that lost its value from day to day. Therefore, Beethoven demanded the Banco-Zettel to be taken back and the full amount be paid out in silver currency. A few months later, Beethoven asked for 250 ducats for another grand collection of compositions (opp. 74 to 86). When the publisher tried to talk him down to 200 ducats, Beethoven reacted with these words: “It is not my intention, as you believe, to become a profiteer in art, one who only composes to augment his riches, heaven forbid, but I enjoy an independent life and cannot be without a small fortune and so the composer's remuneration must honour the artist and all he undertakes. I shall not mention it to anyone that Breitkopf & Härtl gave me 200 ducats for these compositions, you as a music publisher more humane and educated than all other publishers should have the intention not to pay the artist a scanty remuneration but enable him to fully administrate the duties expected of him -”.

Beethoven offered his compositions to several publishers for various European markets under the condition that the editions would have to be published at the same time to avoid losses for individual publishers. The markets were distinctly separated between Austria and politically fragmented Germany (including Leipzig, Bonn, Berlin and Mainz) as well as France and Britain. For a fee of 130 Dutch ducats he conceded the rights of property and publication in Britain and Ireland for the piano reductions of the battle symphony “Wellington's Victory or the Battle of Vittoria”, op. 91, and of the Seventh Symphony, op. 92, the piano trio op. 97 and the violin sonata op. 96 to the London publisher Robert Birchall. Publisher Steiner from Vienna thus had to delay his edition of the battle symphony's piano reduction slightly – one of the few compositions highly targeted to public acceptance.

Beethoven and his publishers

The “Missa Solemnis” case

It was the Missa Solemnis, his greatest spiritual music composition and his best work in his own eyes, for which Beethoven undertook the most complicated and dubious sales efforts ever.

In February 1820, one month before the enthronement of his pupil Archduke Rudolph as Archbishop of Olmütz – the occasion the mass was composed for – but almost three years before its completion, Beethoven and his former Bonn friend Nikolaus Simrock agreed on a fee of 100 Louis d'or coins. Despite Simrock's announcement to equate the value of the Louis d'or coin with the Friedrich d'or coin (pistole) (worth only 7.5 florins Convention coins), Beethoven felt taken in as he calculated with 9 florins. He had received an advance payment for the fee of 900 florins Convention coins from his friend Franz Brentano who he was able to repay in two instalments after three years. Beethoven then opened negotiations with publishers Peters in Leipzig and Artaria in Vienna and several others. In the end, the mass was sold in 1824 for 1,000 florins Convention coins to the Schott publishing house in Mainz together with the Ninth Symphony that alone brought 600 florins.

Before it went to press, Beethoven offered copies of the Missa Solemnis made by his own scribes to 28 European courts for a fee of 50 ducats each. He received ten orders that brought him an additional gain of 1,650 florins Convention coins.

Beethoven as concert organiser

As it was customary for that time, Beethoven also organised concerts. Concerts for the benefit of a musician or composer, the so-called “Academies”, always came with a high financial risk. Usually, the composer whose latest works were played or the virtuoso who wished to demonstrate his ability to the audience, served as the organiser himself which led to an additional workload often regarded as cumbersome and particularly tedious. The organiser's duties included the creation of the programme, selection of musicians, announcing the event as well as arranging advance bookings. Apart from that a suitable place had to be found – usually a theatre or multi-purpose hall such as the Redouten Hall – and rented. The first public hall used only for concerts was built no earlier than 1831 by the Society of the Friends of Music, founded in 1812.

Beethoven managed to secure the National Court Theatre next to the Hofburg for his first own Academy on April 2nd, 1800. The fact that he had dedicated his piano sonatas op. 14 to Josephine von Braun, wife of the director of both court theatres, one year earlier certainly helped him. The programme featured a symphony by Mozart, two pieces from Haydn's Creation, a piano concerto by Beethoven (probably number 1, op. 15), his Septet op. 20 and the First Symphony op. 21 as well as a free piano fantasy. Such long, mixed programmes where the instrumental compositions were interrupted by short vocal pieces were quite usual. Financially seen, the concert was probably successful although Beethoven did not follow the conventions and only charged an entrance fee “as usual”.

The upbeat mood he expressed in a letter to his boyhood friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler regarding his future in Vienna in June 1801 and his hope to hold an Academy at the theatre each year speaks for a successful concert. However, the remaining 26 years in Vienna would see only eight concerts for Beethoven's benefit of which only four proved financially successful. But these Academy concerts always represented an occasion for quite generous contributions made by the nobility.

The best-known examples are the concerts that Beethoven held during the Vienna Congress. Between September 1814 and June 1815 the leading European regents convened in Vienna. Their entourage included diplomats and aristocrats. An extensive programme with balls, opera performances and concerts was organised. After the success of “Wellington's Victory or the Battle of Vittoria”, op. 91, that hit the patriotic nerve of that time, Beethoven seized the opportunity once more and swiftly composed the grandiose cantata “The Glorious Moment”, op. 136, following only commercial aspects. On 29 November 1814, “Wellington's Victory” and the Seventh Symphony were performed once more together with the new cantata in front of an enthusiastic audience and the heads of state. The concert was repeated for Beethoven's benefit on 2 December and to the benefit of the St Marx hospital on 25 December. The expenses for the first two events amounted to 5,108 florins Vienna currency. The fact that Beethoven made more money through his concerts in 1814 than in all other years together is certainly due to the generous support of the Russian Tsarina. The Vienna magazine “Friedensblätter” from 24 December 1814, reported that she had given Beethoven a generous donation of 200 ducats.

Dedications and ordered compositions

The polonaise op. 89, composed especially for the Tsarina, might have been a token of gratitude for her noble contribution to his Academies during the Vienna Congress. However, the composer also received 50 ducats as a gift for the dedication. She additionally paid him 100 ducats for the violin sonatas op. 30 published in 1803 and dedicated to her husband Alexander I. These are the only dedications that resulted in a payment for Beethoven even though the composer dedicated some more pieces with probably the same intention to others.

When dedicating the battle symphony “Wellington's Victory” op. 91 to the Prince Regent of Britain, the later King George IV, Beethoven certainly hoped for a generous remuneration. Unfortunately, his hopes were in vain, despite numerous later tries to remind the king of this omission. The dedication of the Ninth Symphony op. 125 to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III did not fulfil Beethoven's intention either. While he had hoped for a medal, he simply received a ring of minor value and a plain thank-you note. Despite such disappointments, Beethoven profited from dedications as they enhanced the value of a composition in the public's eyes. Of course, he dedicated many pieces to his patrons as a token of gratitude. In general, dedicating a composition was not only a positive deed for the composer and enabled him to demonstrate his admiration in public but also for the recipients who felt adorned through “their” piece. The dedications to the composer's noble patrons outnumber those to his friends by far.

The few ordered works were composed for noble customers (string quartets opp. 127, 132 and 130 for Prince Galitzin, Mass op. 86 for Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy), music societies (Ninth Symphony for the London Royal Philharmonic Society), theatres (such as the incidental music opp. 113 and 117 for the theatre in Pest) and publishers (for example the adaptation of folk songs for the Scottish publisher George Thomson). With regard to the fee Beethoven charged, the order of the Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna to write an oratorio for Carl Bernard's text “Der Sieg des Kreuzes” (the victory of the cross) is most noteworthy. Despite an advance payment of 400 florins Vienna currency and a fixed remuneration of 300 ducats, Beethoven just outlined a short sketch. He did not like the libretto. This example is quite illustrative that it was art, not money, that reigned in his world.

Beethoven's financial circumstances

A publisher in lieu of a bank

Due to the difficult economic situation Beethoven was regularly confronted with financial shortcomings. When the payments by his patrons virtually stopped for three years in 1811 and were resumed in 1815, the buying power had changed drastically and could not be compared to that of 1809. Consequently, Beethoven's annuity, once fixed with the intention of freeing him of all financial worries, temporarily did not fulfil its purpose. He repeatedly had to ask publishers, friends such as the Brentanos and family like his brother Johann for loans.

When his brother Kaspar Karl fell ill with tuberculosis in 1813 Beethoven helped him with a loan. When the money could not be paid back, he received the amount from his publisher Sigmund Anton Steiner and conceded him the demand for payment. Beethoven pledged to provide Steiner with a new and unpublished piano sonata in case the amounts would not be paid back when due and guaranteed him the exclusive right to buy several works. The composer chose the piano sonata in E minor, op. 90 as a special means of paying his debts.

In the following years publisher Steiner repeatedly served as Beethoven's “private bank” and the composer took up several loans and even successfully invested money. On 16 July 1816 he wrote Steiner to express his trust and ask him to securely invest his small capital – a sum of 4,000 florins Convention coins with an interest rate of 8%. The money's origin is not clear but it may well have been the earnings from the two Academy concerts held in 1814 and the generous contribution from the Tsarina.

On 1 June 1816, the Privileged Austrian National Bank was founded as an independent incorporated company. With the aim of a currency consolidation the paper money of the Vienna currency was withdrawn and changed into new bank notes of the original Convention coins at a rate of 2.5 to 1. Around 1820 the currency had stabilised. Now Beethoven's work scholarship was 1,360 florins which equalled the annual salary of a bandmaster. A musician at the court band made between 400 and 700 florins, comparable more or less to the salary of a teacher at a higher institute (they supplemented their income through lessons and private performances). Medium-level public servants were paid more than 1,000 florins and Beethoven's housekeeper received 129 florins, full board and lodging included.

In his tax return dated 15 January 1818, Beethoven indicated an income of only 1,500 florins Vienna currency that equalled the annuity share Archduke Rudolph paid. All other earnings from the sale of his compositions as well as the shares of Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz were omitted. The class tax was a precursor to today's income tax and was levied from 1800 onwards. From 1802 on taxpayers had to classify themselves into tax classes according to their income and provide a declaration. Beethoven shortened the official wording drastically.

Beethoven's financial circumstances

Notes and needs

After three years Beethoven asked Steiner for a return of his invested capital – Steiner did not subtract the composer's debts – and bought eight bank shares of the Austrian National Bank on 13 July 1819. When Beethoven did not make the stipulated repayments, Steiner reminded him politely but with emphasis at the end of 1820. Obviously, Beethoven had bitterly complained about the previously set interest rate of 6%, which was even less than the fixed interest rate for his capital investment. “I cannot be content with your conclusion on my bill as I charged you 6% interest on lent money while giving you 8% on the money you invested and paid these and your capital in a timely manner. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I am not able to offer loans without interest. I served you as a friend in need, trusted your word, have neither been intrusive nor bothered you and must so reject the reproaches thrown at me. – If you consider that my loan to you now nears its fifth year, you will see that I was anything but an intrusive creditor. Even now, I would spare you and be more patient if I were not in need of money. – If I were less convinced about your help and word, I would offer you more time despite the hardship on me. 17 months ago I returned 4000 florins Convention coin or 10000 florins Vienna currency as capital and did not subtract my outstanding money, so it now seems double the pain to be in need of money after trusting your word and despite my good will. Each knows best where the shoe pinches and so I conjure you not to let me down and find means to pay my bill as quickly as possible.-”

Beethoven noted down his thoughts on origin and composition of the debt that amounted to 2,420 florins Vienna currency:
“1300 fl. were probably taken up in 1816 or 17; – 750 fl. Vienna currency even later, perhaps 1819; – 300 fl. I took up for Mrs. v. Beethoven a few years ago; – 70 fl. were probably paid for me in 1819 too.”
The first item is the loan Beethoven received on 4 May 1816, the second one the loan from 30 October 1819. The amount of 70 fl. might be identical to 72 fl. Steiner paid to Bernard in August of 1816 on Beethoven's behalf. The last amount of 300 fl. was owed by Johanna van Beethoven in 1818. On 8 January 1824, Beethoven told her in a letter that he had amortised the debt.
Regarding debt amortisation, Beethoven wrote the following:
“Aside: For payment 1200 fl. can be authorised annually in two instalments. -”
All in all, Steiner had added an interest amount of 520 fl. Vienna currency (1,200 fl. Convention coins equal 3,000 fl. Vienna currency). In the end, Steiner had to wait until the summer of 1824 until he received the repayment of all loans.

In 1823, Beethoven sent a letter to Franz Salzmann, then chief accountant at the Privileged Austrian National Bank in Vienna. The composer owed 100 fl. to his tailor who had already threatened to file a complaint. In addition, Beethoven wanted to pay back at least a part of the money Franz Brentano had lent him three years ago as advance payment of the expected remuneration for the Missa Solemnis. Before borrowing against his shares again, he wanted to receive the due dividend. Therefore, he informed Salzmann: “I am in need of your help again as I can only write down some music. Excuse the inconvenience of asking you to name the months and quantity.” And postscript: “With regard to the wonderful dividend, I am asking you to arrange for it to be paid today or tomorrow as one like me always is in need of money and all these musical notes don't pay my needs!!”

The pun of the German words “Note” (musical note) and “Not” (distress, hardship) was often used by Beethoven, for example in the canon he sent to his doctor Anton Braunhofer in May 1825 after his convalescence: “Doktor, sperrt das Tor dem Tod – Note hilft auch aus der Not” (Doctor, shut out death – notes save from distress). Braunhofer had asked Beethoven for “a few insignificant notes”; he mainly wanted something handwritten from Beethoven. In this case, the German word “Not” (hardship, distress) obtains a double meaning: On the one hand composing musical notes (“Note”) helps Beethoven out of his financial distress (“Not”), on the other hand it also eases his psychological distress caused by the prolonged sickness.

Beethoven's financial circumstances

His shares

Beethoven repeatedly used his shares as security for loans, he borrowed against them and later amortised them. Furthermore, he received an annual dividend of 30 fl. Convention coins, paid twice a year in January and July. He obtained an additional payout of the bank's gains in the form of an exceptional dividend after the annual balance of accounts in January. The capital gain was immense: Between 1819 and 1825, the price for one share more than doubled from 500 fl. to 1,202 fl. Because Beethoven always considered the shares as an inheritance for his nephew Karl and thus not intended for sale, he preferred contracting debts to reducing this fortune. Despite his intention, he had to sell one share in September of 1821 as his financial situation had drastically worsened due to a prolonged sickness.


In January 1827, Beethoven declared his nephew Karl the sole heir of his belongings and seven bank shares. After consulting with his legal counsel Bach and Stephan von Breuning – then Karl's custodian – he added the following a few days before his death: “My nephew Karl shall be the sole heir, the capital of my inheritance shall be given to his natural or testamentary heirs.” As it was feared that Karl would support his highly indebted mother with Beethoven's inheritance, he should only receive the earnings while the capital was intended for his own heirs. Apart from the two shares now owned by the Austrian National Bank, two other shares are at the Vienna City and State Library. In 1864 and 1874, the Deposits Office handed both shares over to Karoline Johanna van Beethoven, daughter of Karl and Caroline Barbara (born Nasken) van Beethoven.
The shares of which only a few friends and his brother knew were the main part of Beethoven's inheritance (73%). The composer, who led a rather frugal life and spent only minor sums on luxury articles, died as a rich man. Just 5% of the Vienna citizens left a similar or higher fortune, 77% left only a tenth or less. Based on the conversion factors calculated by Roman Sandgruber and under reserve, Beethoven's inheritance can be estimated at around 145,000 Euro. To compare: Bandmaster Antonio Salieri left three times as much, Joseph Haydn, bandmaster and “private composer” for Prince Esterházy twice as much.
Beethoven certainly did not lack anything and was not an impoverished artist. Still, his repeated complaints are to be taken seriously as they show that he always worried about his financial situation since he did not have permanent employment. Whatever the case may be, he was able to fulfil his wish of living an independent life, especially in an art-related aspect.

Currency table

Money circulating in Austria at Beethoven's time

1. Money of the Austrian Empire and Hereditary Lands

1753–1858 Convention coins (C.M.)
1 thaler = 2 florins (fl.C.M.) = 120 kreuzers
1 Penny = 3 kreuzers
Bohemia: 1 Gröschl = ¾ kreuzer
Vorlande: 10 kreuzers C.M. = 12 kreuzers (Hereditary Land)

Gold coins
1 Ducat = 4 fl.C.M. 30 kreuzers (official rate 1786–1858)

1762–1811 Vienna Banco-Zettel (B.Z.)
1796 1 fl.C.M. = 1 fl.B.Z.
1800 1 fl.C.M. = 1.15 fl.B.Z.
1805 1 fl.C.M. = 1.5 fl.B.Z.
1810 1 fl.C.M. = 4.92 fl.B.Z.
1811 1 fl.C.M. = up to 10.94 fl.B.Z.

After 1811 Vienna currency (W.W.)
1 florin W.W. = 5 fl.B.Z.
30 kreuzers B.Z. divisional coins = 6 kreuzers W.W.
15 kreuzers B.Z. divisional coins = 3 kreuzers W.W.

1811 1 fl.C.M. = 2.19 fl.W.W.
1813 1 fl.C.M. = 1.59 fl.W.W.
1815 1 fl.C.M. = 3.51 fl.W.W.
1816 1 fl.C.M. = 3.27 fl.W.W.
1819 1 fl.C.M. = 2.49 fl.W.W.

1816 Return to the Convention coins
1 fl.C.M. = 2.5 fl.W.W. = 12.5 fl.B.Z. (fixed rate from 1820 onwards)
3 kreuzers W.W. = 3/5 kreuzer C.M.

2. Value of foreign coins in Convention coins

Gold coins
1 Doppia (Milan) = 7 fl.C.M. 12 kr.
1 Ducat (Italy, Bavaria, Salzburg, Netherlands, etc.) = 4 fl.C.M. 18 kr. – 4 fl.C.M. 28 kr.
1 Louis d'or (France) = 7 fl.C.M. 20 kr. – 9 fl.C.M. 12 kr.
1 Max d'or (Bavaria) = 5 fl.C.M. 54 kr. – 6 fl.C.M. 45 kr.
1 Pistole = approx. 7 fl.C.M. 30 kr.
1 Souverain d'or = 13 fl.C.M. 20 kr.

Silver coins
1 Kronenthaler (Netherlands and others) = 2 fl.C.M. 12 kr.
1 Laubthaler (France) = 2 fl.C.M. 16 kr.
1 Pound (Britain) = 10–11 fl.C.M.
1 Reichsthaler (Prussia) = 1 fl.C.M. 30 kr.
1 Ruble (Russia) = 1 fl.C.M. 40 kr.
1 Scudo (Milan) = 1 fl.C.M. 46 kr. – 2 fl.C.M.

Approximate conversion rate to Euro
1790 1 fl.C.M. = 23.982 Euro
1830 1 fl.C.M. = 15.458 Euro

fl.=florin; kr.=kreuzer

List of selected literature

“Alle Noten bringen mich nicht aus den Nöthen!!”. Beethoven und das Geld, Begleitbuch zu einer Ausstellung des Beethoven-Hauses, hrsg. von Nicole Kämpken und Michael Ladenburger, Bonn 2005.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Briefwechsel Gesamtausgabe, hrsg. im Auftrag des Beethoven-Hauses Bonn von Sieghard Brandenburg, 7 Bände, München 1996.

Ludwig van Beethovens Konversationshefte, hrsg. im Auftrag der Deutschen Staatsbibliothek Berlin von Karl-Heinz Köhler, Grita Herre u.a., 11 Bände, Leipzig 1972–2001.

Axel Beer, Musik zwischen Komponist, Verlag und Publikum. Die Rahmenbedingungen des Musikschaffens in Deutschland im ersten Drittel des 19. Jahrhunderts, Tutzing 2000.

Beethoven und andere Wunderkinder, hrsg. von Ingrid Bodsch in Zusammenarbeit mit Otto Biba und Ingrid Fuchs, Bonn 2003.

Otto Biba, Der Sozial-Status des Musikers, in: Joseph Haydn in seiner Zeit, Ausstellungskatalog, Eisenstadt 1982, S. 105–114.

Ernst Bruckmüller, Zur sozialen Situation des Künstlers, vornehmlich des Musikers, im Biedermeier, in: Künstler und Gesellschaft im Biedermeier. Wissenschaftliche Tagung 6. bis 8. Oktober 2000, Ruprechtshofen, N.Ö., hrsg. von Andrea Harrandt und Erich Wolfgang Partsch, Tutzing 2002, S. 11–30.

Hans-Jürgen Gerhard, Vom Leipziger Fuß zur Reichsgoldwährung. Der lange Weg zur “deutschen Währungsunion” von 1871/76, in: Währungsunionen. Beiträge zur Geschichte überregionaler Münz- und Geldpolitik, (= Numismatische Studien 15) Hamburg 2002, S. 249–288.

Alice M. Hanson, Die zensurierte Muse. Musikleben im Wiener Biedermeier, Wien 1987.

Alice M. Hanson, Incomes and Outgoings in the Vienna of Beethoven and Schubert, in: Music & Letters, Oxford, 64 (1983), S. 173–182.

Andrea Harrandt, Freischaffende-Berufsmusiker-Staatsbeamte. Die Verdienstmöglichkeiten für Komponisten im Biedermeier, in: Künstler und Gesellschaft im Biedermeier. Wissenschaftliche Tagung 6. bis 8. Oktober 2000, Ruprechtshofen, N.Ö., hrsg. von Andrea Harrandt und Erich Wolfgang Partsch, Tutzing 2002, S. 107–120.

Ernst Herttrich, Beethovens Widmungsverhalten, in: Der “männliche” und der “weibliche” Beethoven. Bericht über den Internationalen musikwissenschaftlichen Kongress vom 31. Oktober bis 4. November 2001 an der Universität der Künste, hrsg. von Cornelia Bartsch, Bonn 2003, S. 221–236.

Eduard Holzmair, Der Staatsbankrott vom Jahre 1811 in der Erinnerung von Zeitgenossen, in: Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Numismatischen Gesellschaft 17 (1971), S. 18–21.

Michael Ladenburger, Beethoven und die Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien: Mitteilungen zum Oratorium “Der Sieg des Kreuzes” oder: Der Verdienst der Geduld, in: Studien zur Musikwissenschaft 49 (2002), S. 253–297.

Joseph Karl Mayr, Wien im Zeitalter Napoleons. Staatsfinanzen, Lebensverhältnisse, Beamte und Militär, Wien 1940.

Julia Virginia Moore, Beethoven and inflation: hol' der Henker das Ökonomisch-musikalische!, in: Beethoven forum, London, 1 (1992), S. 191–223.

Julia Virginia Moore, Beethoven and musical economics, Ann Arbor 1987.

Alfons Pausch, Ludwig van Beethoven. Steuererklärung aus dem Jahre 1818. Eigenhändige Fassion des Komponisten mit Text des kaiserlichen Steuerpatents von 1806, Köln 1985.

Johann Pezzl, Neue Skizze von Wien, Erstes Heft, Wien 1805.

Johann Pezzl's Beschreibung von Wien, 7. Ausgabe, Wien 1826.

Günther Probszt, Österreichische Münz- und Geldgeschichte, 3. Auflage, Wien, Köln, Weimar 1994.

Bernhard Prokisch, Die Münzschatzfunde Österreichs aus der Franzosenzeit, in: Mitteilungen des Instituts für Numismatik 28 (2004), S. 16–24.

Roman Sandgruber, Die Anfänge der Konsumgesellschaft. Konsumgüterverbrauch, Lebensstandard und Alltagskultur in Österreich im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, München 1982.

Roman Sandgruber, Wirtschaftsentwicklung, Einkommensverteilung und Alltagsleben zur Zeit Haydns, in: Joseph Haydn in seiner Zeit, Ausstellungskatalog, Eisenstadt 1982, S. 72–90.

Maynard Solomon, Beethovens Tagebuch 1812–1818, Bonn 2005.

Maynard Solomon, Economic Circumstances of the Beethoven Household in Bonn, in: Journal of the American Musicological Society 50 (1997), S. 331 ff.

Alexander Wheelock Thayer, Ludwig van Beethovens Leben, fortgeführt von Hermann Deiters und vollendet von Hugo Riemann, Bd. 3, 2. Auflage, Leipzig 1911 und Bd. 5, Leipzig 1908.

Peter Urbanitsch, Zum Stellenwert des Mäzenatentums im frühen 19. Jahrhundert (unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Komponisten), in: Künstler und Gesellschaft im Biedermeier. Wissenschaftliche Tagung 6. bis 8. Oktober 2000, Ruprechtshofen, N.Ö., hrsg. von Andrea Harrandt und Erich Wolfgang Partsch, Tutzing 2002, S. 31–57.

Vom Pfennig zum Euro. Geld aus Wien, Katalog zur Sonderausstellung des Historischen Museums der Stadt Wien, Wien 2002.

Legal notice

Publisher:
Beethoven-Haus Bonn
Bonngasse 24–26
D-53111 Bonn
Germany


Texts:
Dr. Nicole Kämpken
Dr. Michael Ladenburger


This temporary exhibition was shown from 13 May 2005 to 25 August 2005 in the Beethoven-Haus.