125 years of the Beethoven-Haus

Saving the birthplace

The history of the Beethoven-Haus Association and the rescue of Ludwig van Beethoven's birthplace began in June 1885, when Eduard Hanslick, the most influential music critic in Germany, visited the city of Bonn for a three-day music festival. Hanslick stopped at Schumann's grave and, of course, at Beethoven's birthplace. Mistakenly, this was not the 'real' birthplace, but the Beethoven family home in Rheingasse, which still bore the inscription 'Beethoven's birthplace'.
Hanslick later found his way to the 'real' birthplace in Bonngasse.
In his second letter 'Zum Bonner Musikfeste', Hanslick fundamentally criticises the city of Bonn's treatment of Beethoven:

In 1887, the condition of Ludwig van Beethoven's birthplace became an issue for the city council. The physician Ferdinand August Schmidt (later one of the founding fathers of the Beethoven-Haus Association) submitted an application to purchase the birthplace. In his role as a member of the municipal building commission, he demanded 'that the house at Bonngasse 20 be acquired for the city of Bonn in order to put an end to the disgraceful state of affairs in which Ludwig van Beethoven's birthplace, the pride of our city, not only housed a lowly beer pub, but even a tingel-tangle'. Despite the threat from outsiders to publicise the state of the house to the musical public, the Lord Mayor Hermann Jakob Doetsch reacted ironically with the following comment: 'Such a crazy guy [Beethoven] still manages to seriously damage the city's reputation in retrospect'. Schmidt responded: 'Quite rightly'.

A letter to the editor and a reply, which were printed in the 'Bonner Zeitung' on 23 August 1888, renewed the accusations of accepting the existence of an entertainment venue in Beethoven's birthplace. Herbert Neusser, Bonn newspaper publisher, then considered the idea of founding an association to purchase and preserve the birthplace and, together with the cellist and music teacher Wilhem Kuppe, approached the wealthy entrepreneur Carl Ebbinghaus. Convinced of the idea, Ebbinghaus in turn inspired Hugo Peil and the lawyer Dr Joseph Schumacher, who in turn was acquainted with Neusser and, as a music critic for the Bonner Zeitung, also played a major role in Bonn's musical public.
The five citizens of Bonn secured the pre-emption rights to the house at Bonngasse 20 by 1 March 1889, at a price of 57,000 marks. Peil would pay this sum in advance.
After the condition of the house was confirmed on 21 February by an expert opinion from Building Councillor Maertens to the effect that it could be almost completely restored to its condition at the time of Beethoven's birth, the house was purchased by Peil two days after the first meeting to found the association.

The foundation of the Beethoven-Haus Association

On 24 February 1889, the 'Group of Five' (Neusser, Kuppe, Ebbinghaus, Peil, Schumacher) hosted the first meeting of the association in Neusser's house at Münsterplatz 12. Not only did the house soon provide historical ground due to the founding of the association, but the von Breuning family, with whom the young Beethoven had maintained a close friendship and in whose house he had come and gone, had also lived here.

The meeting was held for the purpose of ‘discussing the commercial and dignified maintenance of the birthplace and constituting an association for this purpose’ with a total of 10 members. The Lord Mayor of Bonn was only granted honorary membership. An extract from the first minute book from 28 March 1889 shows that the starting capital of the association was 10,000 marks. Here too, Hugo Peil contributed the largest sum (Dr E. Prieger provided the association with the same amount).
Peil also concluded the purchase agreement for the birthplace with Mr and Mrs Keldenich the following day. At this time, the house was occupied by around 60 people at the same time and Keldenich, who ran a grocery shop in the house, also demanded a compensation payment from Peil, as he would lose the occupants of the house as customers due to the eviction.
As Hugo Peil soon had to resign from the board for health reasons, ownership was transferred to the banker Carl Cahn, whose bank managed the association's financial and commercial affairs. It was not until 1905 that the association became the legal owner of the birthplace.

One of the first important actions of the newly founded association was to appoint a well-known artist to head it. As Carl Ebbinghaus was good friends with the violinist Joseph Joachim, who celebrated his 50th stage anniversary just a few days after the association was founded, it was hoped that he could be made honorary chairman. Ebbinghaus personally travelled to Vienna with a letter signed by all the members and offered Joachim the honorary chairmanship of the association.
As soon as this was done, the public learnt about the founding of the association. On 28 February, Neusser used the 'Bonner Zeitung' to announce the founding of the association, the purchase of the house where Beethoven was born and Joachim's honorary presidency.
Furthermore, on 31 May, an appeal was published in Neusser's newspaper, signed by the board and the honorary members who had been recruited by then, asking for donations and support for the association.
These honorary members included Imperial Chancellor Prince Bismarck, as well as Giuseppe Verdi and Johannes Brahms.

The foundation of the Beethoven-Haus Association

Other members and first artistic activities

The number of members also increased rapidly, as can be seen from the first list of members from 1890. The so-called 'correspondents' were also responsible for this. In April 1889, letters were sent out in Germany and abroad asking people to take on the role of 'correspondent'.
The task of such 'correspondents' was to collect contributions, do press work, organise concerts, find donations and also recruit new members.
It should be mentioned here that various letters were sent to private individuals, musicians, music shops and consuls. It was therefore a skilfully designed 'image campaign' to increase awareness of the association..

A musical tradition that still characterises the Beethoven-Haus today was introduced in 1890. At the time, Wilhelm Kuppe suggested organising a chamber music festival in Bonn.
The chamber music festival lasted five days and included four evening concerts and a concluding matinée as well as a corresponding accompanying programme, banquets and boat trips on the Rhine, etc. The first chamber music festival was even mentioned in the 'New York Daily Tribune'.
Thanks to the musical direction of Joseph Joachim (until his death in 1907), Bonn soon became a ‘Mecca of chamber music’ (quote from Herman Kretschmar).

Three years later, the second chamber music festival and the simultaneous opening of the museum represented a further milestone in the association's history.
After 1897, this tradition was continued every two years (with a few exceptions). From 1931, the chamber music festivals were supplemented by the city's Beethoven Festival, initially annually and then every two years from 1949.

The founding of the Beethoven-Archiv

Initially, the association's principles only provided for the collection of manuscripts, pictures, busts and relics and occasional literary publications, but it soon became clear that there was also a need for action in the direction of Beethoven research.
However, the attempt to obtain funding from the government for the establishment of the Beethoven Archiv Foundation in 1896 failed, and it was not until the centenary of his death in 1927 that the Beethoven Archive was established as a research and documentation institute under Ludwig Schiedermair.
The objectives of the Beethoven-Archiv were defined as follows.

The edition projects produced by the archive include, for example, the Historical-Critical Complete Edition, the Sketch Edition and the Complete Edition of Beethoven's Correspondence.

The Beethoven-Haus survives World War II

The Beethoven-Haus faced an extremely turbulent time during the Second World War. Even in difficult times of war, the friends and staff of the house took care of Beethoven's birthplace.
During the war, the Beethoven-Haus received letters and messages, such as a letter from Dr Krause, a U.S. prisoner of war, who asked for two photos of Beethoven's living mask to be sent to him so that he could continue his studies (the request was most likely granted thanks to an emergency service in the house).
The letter from front-line soldier Walter Höch, who wrote from the front in Russia and asked to become a member of the association, also tells a stirring story.

But even in Bonn itself, the house and the collection were not entirely without protection and helpers during the last years of the war.
Heinrich Hasselbach, the caretaker at the time, and building councillor and board member Theodor Wildeman were particularly responsible for this.
On 18 October 1944, Bonn was bombarded by the British Air Force and the destruction did not stop at Bonngasse. As the Air Force was using incendiary weapons, veritable firestorms spread through the densely built-up areas of the city centre.
At the risk of his life, caretaker Hasselbach single-handedly removed the stick bombs dropped by the Air Force from the roof of the birthplace and extinguished fires that had already broken out. It is thanks to him that the house, unlike most of the rest of Bonngasse, survived the day largely unscathed. Dr Rademacher from the Rheinisches Landesmuseum finally succeeded in ordering a fire engine to Bonngasse.
Bonn's city centre was almost completely destroyed in the attack.

Despite the heavy attack, the worst-case scenario feared by Wildeman - the destruction of the birthplace - did not materialise. The birthplace could not be secured against destruction by fire or bombs (unlike the movable collection).
For this reason, construction drawings were stored in three different locations, which would serve to restore the house as faithfully as possible in the event of destruction.
As Deputy Provincial Conservator of the Rhine Province, Wildeman had already begun to think about the 'Recovery of movable art treasures in the Rhineland and their ongoing care' and was also responsible for the cathedral treasures of Cologne and Aachen.
In 1939, Wildeman envisaged the ideal storage location for some parts of the Beethoven-Haus collection (original manuscripts, smaller relics, ear trumpets, masks), Wildeman envisaged the hilltop castle Schloss Homburg in Nümbrecht in 1939. Here was protection from bombing raids, the right climate and the proximity to Bonn (the transport of the collection should not be too long and the collection had to be looked after). The manuscripts were outside twice a year for ventilation and regularly examined by Prof Dr Schmidt-Görg.
In June 1942, the furniture and Beethoven's last grand piano were also taken to Schloss Homburg, and in August of the following year the entire library and all of the archive's scientific materials.

The Beethoven-Haus survives World War II

The last years of the war and the return of the collection

Wildeman's assertiveness prevented the probably fatal implementation of the board's decision to store the collection of the most valuable pieces in Bonn's most secure underground cellar in the north tower of the university in September 1944 (in the event of the end of the war, the autographs, among other things, were to be available again quickly and the museum was to be reopened as soon as possible). Wildeman had no peace with this decision and was finally able to convince the board to move the collection to a mine tunnel (used to store art treasures) in Siegen.
Two days after the pieces were brought to Siegen, the north tower collapsed completely during a major attack on Bonn.

After the attacks of 18 October, caretaker Hasselbach moved to Homburg Castle with his wife and the last remaining furniture. Despite this, he often travelled to Bonn under difficult circumstances to see what was going on.
In mid-March, the first bombs fell on Nümbrecht and Hasselbach decided to divide up the string instruments among various trustworthy households in order to avoid a total loss of the instruments.
Wildeman moved back to Siegen towards the end of 1944 to keep an eye on the Beethoven-Haus collection and other valuable art treasures. The situation in Siegen became increasingly critical: the front part of the tunnel served as an air raid shelter, electric lighting and heating failed, and it became increasingly difficult to obtain fuel for the coal stove and lamps, as well as food for the guards. Furthermore, the melting snow and the moisture caused by the water pressure threatened the sensitive collection in the tunnel.
It was therefore a kind of rescue when American soldiers reached the tunnel on 7 April 1945.
It quickly became known among the American soldiers that the tunnel concealed an underground museum. As a result, there was a great deal of interest in visiting the museum, especially as there was a sign pointing to it.
And so it was that Wildeman made contact with Captain Douglas Barrett. Barrett had been head of the Egyptian collection at the British Museum and turned out to be a great admirer of Beethoven's music; he himself played the viola. Barrett asked Wildeman for access to Beethoven's original manuscripts, but Wildeman had to refuse. The sealing of the original manuscripts may only be opened in the presence of two other members of the Executive Board. However, Wildeman promised Barrett the opportunity to view Beethoven's string instruments on 29 April, which were stored at Homburg Castle.

It was also Captain Douglas Barett who, in his role as an officer, issued the necessary papers so that caretaker Hasselbach regained access to Homburg Castle, which was occupied by soldiers. He also played a key role in the repatriation of the collection.

On 11 May, the first return transport of the collection took place with Barett, Wildeman and Hasselbach. Here Beethoven's grand piano, two upright pianos, the quartet instruments and furniture, as well as manuscripts and pictures from the gallery back to Bonn. Three more return transports followed in the same month, until the collection was completely back in Bonn. The repatriation was even filmed for the American and British newsreels.

H.C. Bodmer (1891-1956)

Collector par excellence

Hans Conrad Bodmer is certainly an outstanding personality in the history of the association.
The Zurich native dedicated his life to collecting Beethoveniana and performed an incredible act of patronage when he bequeathed his entire collection of 850 valuable documents to the Beethoven-Haus in his will. It still makes up half of the Beethoven-Haus collection today.

However, Bodmer stayed away from the Beethoven-Haus for a very long time. Although he had already become a member of the association in 1932, requests for reproductions of his collection were still turned down at the time. It was only when Bodmer visited the Beethoven-Haus on 26 March 1952 for the celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of Beethoven's death that personal contact was established between Bodmer and the Beethoven-Haus. Later, this gradually building trust culminated in him releasing his collection for photography and scientific analysis.

Stefan Zweig, the most widely read Austrian writer of his time, also contributed to Bodmer's collection. Zweig himself owned an outstanding collection of autographs. When he wrote to Bodmer (who was still unknown to him at the time, Bodmer valued his anonymity) as a 'Zurich moneybags' in 1927, he wrote in December 1932 to the Beethoven researcher Max Unger about 'Mr Bodmer's magnificent collection' and said: 'I have a collective collector's feeling and consider it right that, once such a magnificent special collection exists, as much as possible should go into it [...] I am always accommodating towards museums and the Bodmer Collection should already be regarded as a museum.'
Later, large parts of the Zweig collection became part of Bodmer's collection, as the writer was forced into exile due to the political situation and had to part with almost his entire collection.

Pablo Casals in the Beethoven-Haus

Probably the most remarkable concerts that ever took place in Beethoven's birthplace were those of cellist Pablo Casals on 18 and 20 September 1958. 81 years old, Casals refused to perform in countries that tolerated the Franco dictatorship, but regarded the Beethoven-Haus as neutral ground.
In the last week of August 1958, the Beethoven-Haus received a telegram informing them that Casals wanted to come to Bonn to give a concert there.

Casals had already embarked on a 'pilgrimage to Beethoven' in 1955, visited the birth room and the garden and played Beethoven's violoncello. Casals also signed the book of guests of honour back then.

However, the concerts did not take place until September 1958. Although the announcement period was short, the tickets were relatively expensive and there were only around one hundred seats available, both concerts sold out quickly. The guests crowded into all three ground floor rooms and onto the courtyard and stairs.

Hermann Joseph Abs (1901-1994)

Born in 1901, Hermann Joseph Abs had his first musical experiences at the age of seven in the Beethoven-Haus. As was customary in middle-class circles at the time, his parents gave him a membership to the Beethoven Beethoven-Haus Association as a present from his parents.
Abs was a member of the association for 74 years, 34 of them as chairman.
He succeeded Wildeman in 1960, who retired from his post due to his age.

Thanks to Abs' decades of financial and moral support, it was also possible to build the chamber music hall for the 100th anniversary of the association and thus become present in public musical life again.
In addition to concerts, masterclasses for conducting and chamber music have also been held in the Chamber Music Hall since 2010.

Abs, among many other achievements in favour of the house, is also to be thanked for the fact that probably the most famous portrait of Beethoven found its way into the Beethoven-Haus.
The portrait, painted by Joseph Karl Stieler, was donated to the house by Deutsche Bank and the city of Bonn on the occasion of Abs' 80th birthday.

The Beethoven-Haus in the 21st century

Following the death of Dr F. Wilhelms Christians, conductor Kurt Masur was elected Chairman of the Board in 2004. Following the first honorary president of the association, the violinist Joseph Joachim, an internationally renowned artist at the head of the association. Kurt Masur organised several Beethoven masterclasses for conductors and initiated the 'International Beethoven Masterclasses', which have been organised annually since 2009.

In 2013, the renowned violist Tabea Zimmermann was chosen as Masur's successor, who stepped down for health reasons. In 2014, she organised a masterclass for chamber music, and from 2015 she will be the artistic director of the Beethoven-Haus Chamber Music Festival. This 'Beethoven Week', held annually in January, continues the tradition of the old chamber music festivals.

Impressum

Publisher:
Beethoven-Haus Bonn
Bonngasse 24-26
D-53111 Bonn
Deutschland

Internet exhibition:
Alexander Kling

The special exhibition, curated by Dr Michael Ladenburger and Dr Nicole Kämpken, was shown from 24 February to 17 August 2014 in the Beethoven-Haus.