Antonie Brentano
Encyclopedia
The Immortal Beloved is the mysterious addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven
wrote on 6–7 July 1812 in Teplitz. The apparently unsent letter was found in the composer's estate after his death, after which it remained in the hands of Anton Schindler until his death, was subsequently willed to his sister, and was sold by her in 1880 to the Berlin State Library
, where it remains today. The letter is written in pencil and consists of three parts.
Since Beethoven did not specify a year, nor a location, an exact dating of the letter and identification of the addressee was speculative until the 1950s, when an analysis of the paper's watermark
yielded the year, and by extension the place. Scholars have since this time been divided on the intended recipient of the Immortal Beloved letter. The two candidates favored by most contemporary scholars are Antonie Brentano
and Josephine Brunsvik
. Other candidates who have been conjectured, with various degrees of mainstream scholarly support, are Julie ("Giulietta") Guicciardi, Therese von Brunsvik
, Anna-Marie Erdödy, and Bettina Brentano, and several others.
The following section continues on pages 5 and 6 through half of page 7. The struck-out portion below is heavily crossed-out in the manuscript.
The final section of the letter resumes after a horizontal line on page 7. The handwriting on the last page is much larger and more difficult to decipher, showing a marked difference from the relatively more orderly page 9. The entire tenth page is thus taken up by only a small amount of text (beginning with "life - my everything" in the translation below).
L.
, it became clear that this Letter to the “Immortal Beloved” was not the only love letter by the composer. That Josephine could have been the unknown woman was subsequently suggested by analyses of similarities in wordings and phrases between the earlier letters (from 1804 to 1809) and this mysterious one from 1812, carried out mainly in the monographs by Massin (1970), Goldschmidt (1977, pp. 189-195) and Tellenbach (1983, p. 103 f.):
- with whom Beethoven had been hopelessly in love from 1799 to ca. 1809/1810, but this was always kept a secret, and in fact was not known for certain until 1957. Furthermore, Schindler's biography has been found to be extremely unreliable, the many forgeries he committed (including the destruction of documents, letters and conversation books) are meanwhile well-documented. Therese von Brunsvik
, who had been her sister Josephine
's life-long companion and was probably the only one who knew everything of her sister's love of Beethoven, commented on the publication of Schindler's conjecture: "Three letters by Beethoven, allegedly to Giulietta. Could they be hoaxes?”
Tenger (1890) published a – fictional – diary of Therese
, which was subsequently dismissed as a “chimera”. La Mara (1909) published, however, the authentic memoirs by Therese
, who was full of admiration and adoration of Beethoven. This, together with interviews of some of the descendants of the Brunsviks, let her to the conclusion that Therese must have been the “Immortal Beloved”.
At first, most researchers thought the letter must have been written around 1806/7. Thomas-San-Galli (1909, 1910) checked out the official listings of guests in Bohemia
, and he concluded first (in 1909) that Amalie Sebald should have been the "Immortal Beloved" (Beethoven met her later several times, and he wrote her a few friendly letters, but certainly no love letters). Amalie was definitely not in Prague at the beginning of July 1812; Cooper (2000, p. 416) therefore rules her out as a candidate. In 1910 Thomas-San-Galli speculated that instead in might have been Therese
who he thought could have (secretly) traveled to Prague.
Doubts were raised by de Hevesy (1910), who ruled out Therese
, and by Unger (1910) against Amalie Sebald. A summary of the older literature can be found in Forbes (1967, pp. 1088-1092).
There was also a forged Beethoven letter by Paul Bekker in Die Musik, shown to be a hoax by Newman (1911).
The date of the Letter – 6/7 July 1812 – has meanwhile been firmly established, not only by watermarks and references, but also by a later letter Beethoven’s to Varnhagen, according to which he must have met his “Immortal Beloved” on 3 July 1812: "I am sorry, dear V., that I could not spend the last evening in Prague with you, and I myself found it impolite, but a circumstance that I could not foresee prevented me."
La Mara (1920), after discovering more letters and notes in the Brunsvik estates, was now convinced "that Josephine
widowed Countess Deym was Beethoven’s ‘Immortal Beloved’.”
Czeke (1938) published for the first time Therese
’s diary notes until 1813; some were known already to Rolland (1928), who concluded that Beethoven was in love with Josephine
, but then he tended towards Therese
as the “Immortal Beloved”.
Kaznelson (1954) evaluated more of the documents in the Brunsvik estates, and even though he thought that Rahel Varnhagen was behind the “Distant Beloved”, he concluded that the “Immortal Beloved” must have been Josephine
, mainly because her daughter Minona was born exactly nine months after the encounter with Beethoven, but her husband Baron Stackelberg was away. Kaznelson arrived at his conclusion, even though H C Bodmer in Zürich, owner of the “13 Letters” after the War (see following), would not allow him access to them.
Editha & Richard Sterba (1954), using psychoanalysis, argued for nephew Karl as the “Immortal Beloved”.
Steichen (1959) identified Marie Erdödy to have been a life-long beloved of Beethoven, and thus also the “Immortal Beloved”.
Marek (1969) argued the case for Dorothea Ertmann.
The Discovery of Josephine Brunsvik
Schmidt-Görg (1957) published 13 so far unknown love letters by Beethoven to Josephine Brunsvik
(plus one draft letter by him that survived as a copy by Josephine
), that could be dated to the time period from 1804 to 1809 when she was a widow (after the early death of her first husband Count Deym). Schmidt-Görg (1957, p. 35) dismissed Kaznelson’s discoveries as “sensational”. Goldschmidt (1977) explains why the German Beethoven scholarship was so reluctant to accept Kaznelson’s theory (already published before these “13 letters”): "The fact that, as a result of this meeting, they had ... to take a natural daughter into account, appeared so venturesome to the professional world that the resistance to the Josephine
hypothesis stiffened noticeably." Schmidt-Görg (1957, p. 31) believed that with the last letter (which he still thought to have been written in 1807 – not 1809) and with Josephine
’s marriage to Baron Stackelberg (in 1810) the love relationship was terminated.
Ley (1957, p. 78) saw it differently: "Only on the negative side has one been able to arrive at certain conclusions: neither Giulietta Guicciardi, nor Amalie Sebald, nor Bettina Brentano can be considered any longer, and not even Therese Brunsvik
, who for a long time was seriously regarded as the recipient of the famous love letter. But curiously enough, it is precisely the same documents which shed a definitive light, in the negative sense, on Therese which bear witness to Beethoven's passionate love for her sister Josephine
."
Riezler (1962, p. 46), still very much a "standard" German biography of Beethoven, followed Kaznelson regarding Josephine
being his "only love", likewise Dahlhaus (1991, p. 247) who concluded that "internal evidence" points to Josephine
.
The French authors Jean & Brigitte Massin (1970) identified Josephine
as the "Immortal Beloved", mainly based on comparisons of the “Letter to the Immortal Beloved” with the earlier 14 (15) love letters: “The letter to the ‘Immortal Beloved’ … not only uses similar wording, but also emphasizes his long-time faithfulness to his one and only Beloved.” In addition, with regard to traces in Beethoven’s compositions, the "Massins argue that ... the presence of Josephine
in Beethoven's life left traces in his music. ... From the standpoint of music theory, the connections make eminent sense.”
After Massin (1970) and Goldschmidt (1977), Tellenbach (1983, 1987, 1988, 1999) argued extensively the case for Josephine
, based on many newly discovered documents, like Therese
's later diary notes, e.g., on the discovery of the "Three letters by Beethoven … they must have been to Josephine
whom he loved passionately.”
"Beethoven! It is like a dream, that he was the friend, the confidant of our house – a beautiful mind! Why did not my sister Josephine
, as widow Deym, take him as her husband? Josephine
’s soul-mate! They were born for each other. She would have been happier with him than with Stackelberg. Maternal affection made her forgo her own happiness."
Again Therese
on Beethoven: "How unhappy, with such intellectual talent. At the same time Josephine
was unhappy! Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien – both together they would have been happy (perhaps). What he needed was a wife, that’s for sure."
"I was so lucky to have been acquainted with Beethoven, intimately and intellectually, for so many years! Josephine
’s intimate friend, her soul mate! They were born for each other, and if both were still alive, they would be united."
Goldschmidt's evaluation of the Josephine
hypothesis: "Without conclusive proofs of the opposite one should no longer want to part prematurely with the increasingly justified assumption that the 'Immortal Beloved' could hardly be anyone else but the 'Only Beloved'."
Josephine
's candidacy as the "Immortal Beloved" was contested by Solomon
(1988), mainly in response to Massin (1970), Goldschmidt (1977) and Tellenbach (1983).
(1972, 1998) was the first to suggest Antonie Brentano to have been the “Immortal Beloved”. His hypothesis was founded on two major assumptions (or prerequisites):
ad 1: Antonie arrived in Prague on 3 July 1812 after an arduous journey with husband, child and servant (and was registered there); she left at dawn the following morning: “Where did she have time that night for a tryst with Beethoven?” (Steblin
2007, p. 148) Solomon
(1972, p. 577) admits: “There is no proof that Beethoven and Antonie met in Prague.” And regarding Karlsbad: “It is possible that the letter arose from a ... meeting with a woman who informed Beethoven that she was going to Karlsbad and then failed to carry out her declared intention.” (Solomon
1998, p. 219 f.) Goldschmidt showed that "for short stays, residents [as opposed to foreigners] were exempt from reporting requirements".
ad 2: There are no love letters from or to Antonie, and no other documents supporting the possibility of a love relationship with Beethoven, there is only a letter by Antonie to her brother-in-law Clemens, where she expressed her “admiration” of Beethoven: “At what point this worship was transformed into love is not yet known. My estimate is ... in the fall of 1811. … The love affair was under way by late 1811.” Solomon
(1998, p. 229) quotes as supporting his case the Song "An die Geliebte" [To the Beloved] WoO 140, an autograph of which contains in Antonie’s handwriting the remark: "Requested by me from the author on 2 March 1812." The background to this: “In November 1811, we see Beethoven writing a newly composed song with the heading ‘An die Geliebte’ [To the Beloved] into the album of the Bavarian Court singer Regina Lang. … Dilettante verses … by a clumsy author, a real dilettante, a coffeehouse poet.” Solomon (1972, p. 572) declares that Beethoven’s separation from his “Only Beloved” Josephine
two years before (due to her second marriage) does not rule out that she could have been the “Immortal Beloved”: “There is no certainty that the affair was not momentarily rekindled a half-decade later. ... There is still room for a reasonable doubt." (Solomon 1998, p. 461, n. 48.)
Solomon
’s hypothesis was contested by Goldschmidt (1977), Tellenbach (1983, 1987, 1988, 1993/1994, 1998), Beahrs (1972, 1986, 1988, 1993), Dahlhaus (1991), Pichler (1994), Altman (1996), Meredith (2000), Steblin
(2007), and Walden (2011).
Goldschmidt (1977) summarizes: "The Antonia hypothesis … is not so fully convincing that it excludes all others." and: "In order to possibly verify the Antonia-Hypothesis with its inherent factual contradictions once and forever, it is necessary to falsify the other hypotheses that have been offered."
Altman (1996) "demonstrates, as indeed Tellenbach has done, that much of the basis for the claims of Antonie's supporters consists of distortions, suppositions, opinions, and even plain inaccuracies." (Cooper 1996, p. 18)
However, Altman's suggestion that the “Immortal Beloved” was Marie Erdödy was shown to be “impossible” by Cooper (1996).
Lund (1988) made a claim that Antonie’s son Karl, born exactly eight months after the alleged encounter with Beethoven, should have been his son; even Solomon
did not endorse this, as he thought "it was 'sensationalistic'." (Meredith 2011, p. x)
Beahrs (1993) supported Josephine
: "Was there for him in fact … one deep and lasting passion for a certain dear one, marriage to whom was precluded, not by psychological inhibitions of the inner man, but by prohibitive heart-breaking externals? … Where is any evidence whatsoever of true romantic love for even such dear ones as Marie Erdödy or Dorothea von Ertmann, Therese Malfatti or Antonie Brentano? Although all have been advanced as Beethoven's unknown Immortal Beloved, the assessment is unsupported by the record or by any known correspondence. Intimate friends of Beethoven, true, one and all; but loves? There is one, however, and only one, to whom Beethoven did pour his heart out in impassioned declarations of undying love remarkably similar to the phraseology of the anguished letter to his Immortal Beloved… That one is his 'BELOVED AND ONLY J' – Josephine
." (p. 183 f.)
Pulkert’s (2000) claim about one Almerie Esterházy, whom Beethoven did not even know, was refuted by Steblin
(2001). Meredith (2000, p. 47) summarily comments: “… we lack evidence of a connection between Almerie and Beethoven... I must reiterate that we have no such evidence of a passionate love relationship between Antonie and Beethoven either, just of a close friendship; for Josephine
, … we know he was indeed passionately in love with her in 1805-1807 at least."
Finally, Kopitz’ (2001) “valiant effort … show[ed] that Antonie cannot have been the ‘Immortal Beloved’. She was a happily married wife and mother … her candidacy, which includes the improbable scenario of a ‘ménage à trois’ in Karlsbad, makes no psychological sense.” (Steblin
2007, p. 148)
Walden (2011, p. 5) suggests that Bettina Brentano was Beethoven’s "Immortal Beloved", based on the assumption that her forgeries (see Goldschmidt 1977, pp. 536–538) are true: "If that letter to Bettina was genuine, it would prove conclusively that Bettina was the Immortal Beloved, but the original has not survived, and the authenticity is strongly doubted today. ... her reliability and truthfulness are today under a cloud."
Meredith (2011), reviewing the history of the debate so far, deplores the fact that French and German authors (like Massin and Goldschmidt) were never translated into English, thus depriving especially the US-based Beethoven scholarship of the most valuable resources in this field of study: "Unfortunately, several of the most important and controversial studies about the Immortal Beloved have never appeared in English translation, which has substantially restricted their impact." (p. xv) "Tellenbach ... too has unfortunately never appeared in English translation." (p. xvii)
Josephine
Significant new discoveries in European archives were made and published by Steblin
(2002, 2007, 2009, 2009a) and Skwara/Steblin
(2007). These can be summarized into two important items:
"A new way of looking at old evidence confirms that Josephine
was Beethoven's one and only 'Immortal Beloved'. ... All of the puzzling aspects about Beethoven's affair with the 'Immortal Beloved,' including his various cryptic comments, can be explained in terms of his one known beloved – Josephine
. Why do we doubt his word that there was only one woman who had captured his heart?" (Steblin
2007, p. 180).
However, it should be noted that this conclusion is still very much debated - for example, the article on Beethoven in the most recent edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2011, supports the Antonie hypothesis.
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...
wrote on 6–7 July 1812 in Teplitz. The apparently unsent letter was found in the composer's estate after his death, after which it remained in the hands of Anton Schindler until his death, was subsequently willed to his sister, and was sold by her in 1880 to the Berlin State Library
Berlin State Library
The Berlin State Library is a library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.-Buildings:The State Library runs several premises, three of which are open for users, namely House 1 in Unter den Linden 8, House 2 in Potsdamer Straße 33 and the newspaper archive...
, where it remains today. The letter is written in pencil and consists of three parts.
Since Beethoven did not specify a year, nor a location, an exact dating of the letter and identification of the addressee was speculative until the 1950s, when an analysis of the paper's watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
yielded the year, and by extension the place. Scholars have since this time been divided on the intended recipient of the Immortal Beloved letter. The two candidates favored by most contemporary scholars are Antonie Brentano
Antonie Brentano
The Immortal Beloved is the mysterious addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on 6–7 July 1812 in Teplitz...
and Josephine Brunsvik
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
. Other candidates who have been conjectured, with various degrees of mainstream scholarly support, are Julie ("Giulietta") Guicciardi, Therese von Brunsvik
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, Anna-Marie Erdödy, and Bettina Brentano, and several others.
The Letter
The entire letter is written on 10 small pages, written in Beethoven's large and rather inconsistent handwriting. The first section occupies four pages. In the following, the dashes and underlined words are as in Beethoven's manuscript, crossed-out parts are enclosed in “<...>”.- 6th July, in the morning.
- 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. I did not arrive here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. As there were few horses, the mail coach chose another route, but what a dreadful one this was! At the last stage but one I was warned not to travel at night; attempts were made to frighten me about a forest, but that only made me more eager. – I was wrong. The coach broke down on the awful road, a road without a proper surface, a country one. If the two coachmen had not been with me, I would have remained stranded on the way. Esterhazi travelled the usual road here and had the same fate with eight horses that I had with four. – Yet I did get some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties. – now quickly to the interior from the exterior. We will probably see each other soon, only, today I cannot convey to you my observations which I made during these few days about my life – If our hearts were always close together, I would have no such thoughts. my heart is full with so much to tell you - Oh - There are moments when I feel that language is nothing at all - cheer up - remain my faithful only darling, my everything, as I for you, the rest is up to the Gods, what must be for us and what is in store for us. –
- your faithful ludwig -
The following section continues on pages 5 and 6 through half of page 7. The struck-out portion below is heavily crossed-out in the manuscript.
- Monday evening, 6th July.
- You are suffering, you my dearest creature – only now do I realize that letters have to be posted very early, on Mondays – Thursdays – the only days when the mail is delivered to K. - you are suffering - Oh, wherever I am, you are with me, I talk to myself and to you[,] arrange [it] that I can live with you, what a life!!!! as it is!!!! without you – Pursued by the goodness of mankind here and there, the goodness that I wish to deserve as little as I deserve it. – Man’s humility towards man – this pains me – and when I consider myself in relation to the universe, what am I and what is the man who is called the greatest? – And yet, – therein lies the divine element in man. I weep when I think that you will probably not receive first news of me until Saturday. However as much as you love me - I love you even more deeply, but - but never hide yourself from me - Good night – as I am taking the baths I must go to bed.
Oh God - so near! so far! Is not our love a true edifice in Heaven - but also as firm as the firmament. –
The final section of the letter resumes after a horizontal line on page 7. The handwriting on the last page is much larger and more difficult to decipher, showing a marked difference from the relatively more orderly page 9. The entire tenth page is thus taken up by only a small amount of text (beginning with "life - my everything" in the translation below).
- Good morning, on 7th July.
- While still in bed my thoughts turn towards you my Immortal Beloved, now and then happy, then sad again, waiting whether fate might answer us - I can only live either wholly with you or not at all, yes I have resolved to stray about in the distance, until I can fly into your arms, and send my soul embraced by you into the realm of the Spirits - yes unfortunately it must be - you will compose yourself all the more since you know my faithfulness to you, never can another own my heart, never – never – O God why do I have to separate from someone whom I love so much, and yet my life in V[ienna] as it is now is a miserable life - Your love makes me at once most happy and most unhappy - at my age I would now need some conformity[,] regularity of my life – can this exist in our relationship? – Angel, I have just heard that the mail coach goes every day – and thus I must finish so that you may receive the letter immediately. – be patient – only through quiet contemplation of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together – Be calm; for only by calmly considering our lives can we achieve our purpose of living together.- 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
- Forever thine
- forever mine
- forever us.
Text Analysis
After Schmidt-Görg (1957) published 13 so far unknown love letters by Beethoven to Josephine BrunsvikJosephine Brunsvik
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”...
, it became clear that this Letter to the “Immortal Beloved” was not the only love letter by the composer. That Josephine could have been the unknown woman was subsequently suggested by analyses of similarities in wordings and phrases between the earlier letters (from 1804 to 1809) and this mysterious one from 1812, carried out mainly in the monographs by Massin (1970), Goldschmidt (1977, pp. 189-195) and Tellenbach (1983, p. 103 f.):
- ”My angel” (used again towards the end of this letter): see “farewell angel – of my heart – of my life.” (#219, April 1805) – this also uses the intimate German “Du” ("Leb wohl Engel"); “farewell angel of my heart” (#220, April/May 1805).
- ”My everything”, “you - you - my life – my everything”: see “you – you - my everything, my happiness ... my solace – my everything” (#214, 1st quarter 1805); “dear J. everything – everything for you” (#297, after 20 September 1807).
- ”Esterhazy”: This Hungarian Prince was well-known to the Hungarian Brunsviks.
- ”remain my faithful only”, “your faithful ludwig”, “since you know my faithfulness to you, never can another own my heart, never – never”, “never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved L”, “forever thine, forever mine, forever us”: see “Long – Long – may our love last – it is so noble – so much founded on mutual respect and friendship – even great similarity in so many things, in thoughts and feelings – oh let me hope that your heart – will continue to beat for me for a long time – mine can only – stop – to beat for you – if – it does not beat any more – beloved J” (#216, March/April 1805); “your faithful Bethwn” (#279, May 1807); “your faithful Bthwn, eternally devoted to you” (#294, 20 September 1807). Clearly referring to a pre-existing and long relationship.
- ”You are suffering you my dearest ... you are suffering - Oh, wherever I am, you are with me”: Josephine was not only frequently ill, but especially desperate around that time because her husband had left her.
- ”but – but never hide yourself from me”: During 1807, Josephine began to withdraw from Beethoven, due to the pressure by her family; she was not home when Beethoven came to see her (see #294 and #307).
- ”I must go to bed
“: the heavily crossed-out words are probably the strongest indication that their love had been consummated (also explains the birth of Minona, Josephine’s seventh child, exactly nine months later).
The Period of Speculation (1827 to 1969)
In his biography of Beethoven, Schindler (1840) suspected Julie Guicciardi to be the “Immortal Beloved”. However, research by Tellenbach (1983) indicates that her cousin Franz von Brunsvik may have suggested this (when talking to Schindler), as he was keen to distract any suspicion away from his sister JosephineJosephine Brunsvik
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”...
- with whom Beethoven had been hopelessly in love from 1799 to ca. 1809/1810, but this was always kept a secret, and in fact was not known for certain until 1957. Furthermore, Schindler's biography has been found to be extremely unreliable, the many forgeries he committed (including the destruction of documents, letters and conversation books) are meanwhile well-documented. Therese von Brunsvik
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, who had been her sister Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
's life-long companion and was probably the only one who knew everything of her sister's love of Beethoven, commented on the publication of Schindler's conjecture: "Three letters by Beethoven, allegedly to Giulietta. Could they be hoaxes?”
Tenger (1890) published a – fictional – diary of Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, which was subsequently dismissed as a “chimera”. La Mara (1909) published, however, the authentic memoirs by Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, who was full of admiration and adoration of Beethoven. This, together with interviews of some of the descendants of the Brunsviks, let her to the conclusion that Therese must have been the “Immortal Beloved”.
At first, most researchers thought the letter must have been written around 1806/7. Thomas-San-Galli (1909, 1910) checked out the official listings of guests 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...
, and he concluded first (in 1909) that Amalie Sebald should have been the "Immortal Beloved" (Beethoven met her later several times, and he wrote her a few friendly letters, but certainly no love letters). Amalie was definitely not in Prague at the beginning of July 1812; Cooper (2000, p. 416) therefore rules her out as a candidate. In 1910 Thomas-San-Galli speculated that instead in might have been Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
who he thought could have (secretly) traveled to Prague.
Doubts were raised by de Hevesy (1910), who ruled out Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, and by Unger (1910) against Amalie Sebald. A summary of the older literature can be found in Forbes (1967, pp. 1088-1092).
There was also a forged Beethoven letter by Paul Bekker in Die Musik, shown to be a hoax by Newman (1911).
The date of the Letter – 6/7 July 1812 – has meanwhile been firmly established, not only by watermarks and references, but also by a later letter Beethoven’s to Varnhagen, according to which he must have met his “Immortal Beloved” on 3 July 1812: "I am sorry, dear V., that I could not spend the last evening in Prague with you, and I myself found it impolite, but a circumstance that I could not foresee prevented me."
La Mara (1920), after discovering more letters and notes in the Brunsvik estates, was now convinced "that Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
widowed Countess Deym was Beethoven’s ‘Immortal Beloved’.”
Czeke (1938) published for the first time Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
’s diary notes until 1813; some were known already to Rolland (1928), who concluded that Beethoven was in love with Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
, but then he tended towards Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
as the “Immortal Beloved”.
Kaznelson (1954) evaluated more of the documents in the Brunsvik estates, and even though he thought that Rahel Varnhagen was behind the “Distant Beloved”, he concluded that the “Immortal Beloved” must have been Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
, mainly because her daughter Minona was born exactly nine months after the encounter with Beethoven, but her husband Baron Stackelberg was away. Kaznelson arrived at his conclusion, even though H C Bodmer in Zürich, owner of the “13 Letters” after the War (see following), would not allow him access to them.
Editha & Richard Sterba (1954), using psychoanalysis, argued for nephew Karl as the “Immortal Beloved”.
Steichen (1959) identified Marie Erdödy to have been a life-long beloved of Beethoven, and thus also the “Immortal Beloved”.
Marek (1969) argued the case for Dorothea Ertmann.
The Discovery of Josephine BrunsvikJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
(1957 to 1999)
Schmidt-Görg (1957) published 13 so far unknown love letters by Beethoven to Josephine BrunsvikJosephine Brunsvik
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”...
(plus one draft letter by him that survived as a copy by Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
), that could be dated to the time period from 1804 to 1809 when she was a widow (after the early death of her first husband Count Deym). Schmidt-Görg (1957, p. 35) dismissed Kaznelson’s discoveries as “sensational”. Goldschmidt (1977) explains why the German Beethoven scholarship was so reluctant to accept Kaznelson’s theory (already published before these “13 letters”): "The fact that, as a result of this meeting, they had ... to take a natural daughter into account, appeared so venturesome to the professional world that the resistance to the Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
hypothesis stiffened noticeably." Schmidt-Görg (1957, p. 31) believed that with the last letter (which he still thought to have been written in 1807 – not 1809) and with Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
’s marriage to Baron Stackelberg (in 1810) the love relationship was terminated.
Ley (1957, p. 78) saw it differently: "Only on the negative side has one been able to arrive at certain conclusions: neither Giulietta Guicciardi, nor Amalie Sebald, nor Bettina Brentano can be considered any longer, and not even Therese Brunsvik
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
, who for a long time was seriously regarded as the recipient of the famous love letter. But curiously enough, it is precisely the same documents which shed a definitive light, in the negative sense, on Therese which bear witness to Beethoven's passionate love for her sister Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
."
Riezler (1962, p. 46), still very much a "standard" German biography of Beethoven, followed Kaznelson regarding Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
being his "only love", likewise Dahlhaus (1991, p. 247) who concluded that "internal evidence" points to Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
.
The French authors Jean & Brigitte Massin (1970) identified Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
as the "Immortal Beloved", mainly based on comparisons of the “Letter to the Immortal Beloved” with the earlier 14 (15) love letters: “The letter to the ‘Immortal Beloved’ … not only uses similar wording, but also emphasizes his long-time faithfulness to his one and only Beloved.” In addition, with regard to traces in Beethoven’s compositions, the "Massins argue that ... the presence of Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
in Beethoven's life left traces in his music. ... From the standpoint of music theory, the connections make eminent sense.”
After Massin (1970) and Goldschmidt (1977), Tellenbach (1983, 1987, 1988, 1999) argued extensively the case for Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
, based on many newly discovered documents, like Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
's later diary notes, e.g., on the discovery of the "Three letters by Beethoven … they must have been to Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
whom he loved passionately.”
"Beethoven! It is like a dream, that he was the friend, the confidant of our house – a beautiful mind! Why did not my sister Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
, as widow Deym, take him as her husband? Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
’s soul-mate! They were born for each other. She would have been happier with him than with Stackelberg. Maternal affection made her forgo her own happiness."
Again Therese
Teréz Brunszvik
Countess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
on Beethoven: "How unhappy, with such intellectual talent. At the same time Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
was unhappy! Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien – both together they would have been happy (perhaps). What he needed was a wife, that’s for sure."
"I was so lucky to have been acquainted with Beethoven, intimately and intellectually, for so many years! Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
’s intimate friend, her soul mate! They were born for each other, and if both were still alive, they would be united."
Goldschmidt's evaluation of the Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
hypothesis: "Without conclusive proofs of the opposite one should no longer want to part prematurely with the increasingly justified assumption that the 'Immortal Beloved' could hardly be anyone else but the 'Only Beloved'."
Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
's candidacy as the "Immortal Beloved" was contested by Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
(1988), mainly in response to Massin (1970), Goldschmidt (1977) and Tellenbach (1983).
Antonie Brentano and Other Alternatives (1972 to 2011)
SolomonMaynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
(1972, 1998) was the first to suggest Antonie Brentano to have been the “Immortal Beloved”. His hypothesis was founded on two major assumptions (or prerequisites):
- 1. the woman must have been in Prague and Karlsbad around the time in question (like Beethoven);
- 2. she must have been closely acquainted (at least on very friendly terms) with Beethoven, at the time immediately before this event.
ad 1: Antonie arrived in Prague on 3 July 1812 after an arduous journey with husband, child and servant (and was registered there); she left at dawn the following morning: “Where did she have time that night for a tryst with Beethoven?” (Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
2007, p. 148) Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
(1972, p. 577) admits: “There is no proof that Beethoven and Antonie met in Prague.” And regarding Karlsbad: “It is possible that the letter arose from a ... meeting with a woman who informed Beethoven that she was going to Karlsbad and then failed to carry out her declared intention.” (Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
1998, p. 219 f.) Goldschmidt showed that "for short stays, residents [as opposed to foreigners] were exempt from reporting requirements".
ad 2: There are no love letters from or to Antonie, and no other documents supporting the possibility of a love relationship with Beethoven, there is only a letter by Antonie to her brother-in-law Clemens, where she expressed her “admiration” of Beethoven: “At what point this worship was transformed into love is not yet known. My estimate is ... in the fall of 1811. … The love affair was under way by late 1811.” Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
(1998, p. 229) quotes as supporting his case the Song "An die Geliebte" [To the Beloved] WoO 140, an autograph of which contains in Antonie’s handwriting the remark: "Requested by me from the author on 2 March 1812." The background to this: “In November 1811, we see Beethoven writing a newly composed song with the heading ‘An die Geliebte’ [To the Beloved] into the album of the Bavarian Court singer Regina Lang. … Dilettante verses … by a clumsy author, a real dilettante, a coffeehouse poet.” Solomon (1972, p. 572) declares that Beethoven’s separation from his “Only Beloved” Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
two years before (due to her second marriage) does not rule out that she could have been the “Immortal Beloved”: “There is no certainty that the affair was not momentarily rekindled a half-decade later. ... There is still room for a reasonable doubt." (Solomon 1998, p. 461, n. 48.)
Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
’s hypothesis was contested by Goldschmidt (1977), Tellenbach (1983, 1987, 1988, 1993/1994, 1998), Beahrs (1972, 1986, 1988, 1993), Dahlhaus (1991), Pichler (1994), Altman (1996), Meredith (2000), Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2007), and Walden (2011).
Goldschmidt (1977) summarizes: "The Antonia hypothesis … is not so fully convincing that it excludes all others." and: "In order to possibly verify the Antonia-Hypothesis with its inherent factual contradictions once and forever, it is necessary to falsify the other hypotheses that have been offered."
Altman (1996) "demonstrates, as indeed Tellenbach has done, that much of the basis for the claims of Antonie's supporters consists of distortions, suppositions, opinions, and even plain inaccuracies." (Cooper 1996, p. 18)
However, Altman's suggestion that the “Immortal Beloved” was Marie Erdödy was shown to be “impossible” by Cooper (1996).
Lund (1988) made a claim that Antonie’s son Karl, born exactly eight months after the alleged encounter with Beethoven, should have been his son; even Solomon
Maynard Solomon
Maynard 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:...
did not endorse this, as he thought "it was 'sensationalistic'." (Meredith 2011, p. x)
Beahrs (1993) supported Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
: "Was there for him in fact … one deep and lasting passion for a certain dear one, marriage to whom was precluded, not by psychological inhibitions of the inner man, but by prohibitive heart-breaking externals? … Where is any evidence whatsoever of true romantic love for even such dear ones as Marie Erdödy or Dorothea von Ertmann, Therese Malfatti or Antonie Brentano? Although all have been advanced as Beethoven's unknown Immortal Beloved, the assessment is unsupported by the record or by any known correspondence. Intimate friends of Beethoven, true, one and all; but loves? There is one, however, and only one, to whom Beethoven did pour his heart out in impassioned declarations of undying love remarkably similar to the phraseology of the anguished letter to his Immortal Beloved… That one is his 'BELOVED AND ONLY J' – Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
." (p. 183 f.)
Pulkert’s (2000) claim about one Almerie Esterházy, whom Beethoven did not even know, was refuted by Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2001). Meredith (2000, p. 47) summarily comments: “… we lack evidence of a connection between Almerie and Beethoven... I must reiterate that we have no such evidence of a passionate love relationship between Antonie and Beethoven either, just of a close friendship; for Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
, … we know he was indeed passionately in love with her in 1805-1807 at least."
Finally, Kopitz’ (2001) “valiant effort … show[ed] that Antonie cannot have been the ‘Immortal Beloved’. She was a happily married wife and mother … her candidacy, which includes the improbable scenario of a ‘ménage à trois’ in Karlsbad, makes no psychological sense.” (Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
2007, p. 148)
Walden (2011, p. 5) suggests that Bettina Brentano was Beethoven’s "Immortal Beloved", based on the assumption that her forgeries (see Goldschmidt 1977, pp. 536–538) are true: "If that letter to Bettina was genuine, it would prove conclusively that Bettina was the Immortal Beloved, but the original has not survived, and the authenticity is strongly doubted today. ... her reliability and truthfulness are today under a cloud."
Meredith (2011), reviewing the history of the debate so far, deplores the fact that French and German authors (like Massin and Goldschmidt) were never translated into English, thus depriving especially the US-based Beethoven scholarship of the most valuable resources in this field of study: "Unfortunately, several of the most important and controversial studies about the Immortal Beloved have never appeared in English translation, which has substantially restricted their impact." (p. xv) "Tellenbach ... too has unfortunately never appeared in English translation." (p. xvii)
JosephineJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
re-discovered (2002 to date)
Significant new discoveries in European archives were made and published by SteblinRita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2002, 2007, 2009, 2009a) and Skwara/Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2007). These can be summarized into two important items:
- (1) JosephineJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
’s estranged husband Baron Stackelberg was most likely away from home at the beginning of July 1812 (probably from the end of June for ca. two months), as noted in her diary: “Today has been a difficult day for me. – The hand of fate is resting ominously on me – I saw besides my own deep sorrows also the degeneration of my children, and – almost – all courage deserted me –!!! ... Stackelberg wants to leave me on my own. He is callous to supplicants in need.” SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
(2007, p. 169) also discovered a document headed "Table of Rules" and dated 5-11 July with a list of ethical categories in the hand-writing of Christoph von Stackelberg: "Thus this whole document, dated at the time when ... he ... was deliberating about his future, is surely further proof that Josephine was left alone ... in June and July 1812."
- (2) JosephineJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
expressed her clear intention to go to PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(in June 1812): “I want to see Liebert in Prague. I will never let the children be taken from me. ... On account of Stackelberg I have ruined myself physically, in that I have incurred so much distress and illness through him.”
"A new way of looking at old evidence confirms that Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
was Beethoven's one and only 'Immortal Beloved'. ... All of the puzzling aspects about Beethoven's affair with the 'Immortal Beloved,' including his various cryptic comments, can be explained in terms of his one known beloved – Josephine
Josephine Brunsvik
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”...
. Why do we doubt his word that there was only one woman who had captured his heart?" (Steblin
Rita Steblin
Rita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
2007, p. 180).
However, it should be noted that this conclusion is still very much debated - for example, the article on Beethoven in the most recent edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2011, supports the Antonie hypothesis.
Sources
- Albrecht, Theodore (1996, ed.): Letters to Beethoven & other Correspondence. University of Nebraska Press.
- Albrecht, Theodore (2009): "Anton Schindler as destroyer and forger of Beethoven’s conversation books: A case for decriminalization." Music’s Intellectual History, pp. 168-181. http://www.rilm.org/historiography/talbrecht.pdf
- Altman, Gail S (1996): Beethoven: A Man of His Word - Undisclosed Evidence for his Immortal Beloved. Anubian Press; ISBN 1-888071-01-X.
- Anderson, Emily (1961, ed.): The Letters of Beethoven. London: Macmillan.
- Beahrs, Virginia Oakley (1972): "New Light on Beethoven's Immortal Beloved?" Michigan Quarterly Review, Vol. XI/3, pp. 177-185.
- Beahrs, Virginia (1986): "The Immortal Beloved Revisited." Beethoven Newsletter 1/2, pp. 22–24.
- Beahrs, Virginia Oakley (1988): "The Immortal Beloved Riddle Reconsidered." Musical Times, Vol. 129/1740, 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.
- Beck, Dagmar/Herre, Grita (1979): "Anton Schindlers fingierte Eintragungen in den Konversationsheften." [Anton Schindler's Fabricated Entries in the Conversation Books.] Harry Goldschmidt (ed.): Zu Beethoven. Aufsätze und Annotationen. [On Beethoven. Essays and Annotations.] Leipzig.
- Brandenburg, Sieghard (1996, ed.): Ludwig van Beethoven: Briefwechsel. Gesamtausgabe. [Ludwig van Beethoven: Letters. Complete Edition.] 8 vols. Munich: Henle.
- Brandenburg, Sieghard (2001, ed.): Ludwig van Beethoven, Der Brief an die Unsterbliche Geliebte. Facsimile, transcription and commentary in German, English and Japanese, new edition. Bonn: Beethoven-Haus.
- Cooper, Barry (1996): “Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved and Countess Erdödy: A Case of Mistaken Identity?”, Beethoven Journal XI/2, pp. 18-24.
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grófno naplói és feljegyzései. (Countess Therese BrunsvikTeréz BrunszvikCountess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
's Diaries and Notes.) Vol. 1. Budapest: Kötet. - Dahlhaus, Carl (1991): Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig 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...
: Approaches to his Music. Oxford: University Press. - Forbes, Elliot (1967, ed.): Thayer’s Life of Beethoven. 2 vols. 2nd ed. Princeton: University Press.
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- Hevesy, André de (1910): Petites Amies de Beethoven. Paris: Champion.
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- Kaznelson, Siegmund (1954): Beethovens Ferne und Unsterbliche Geliebte. (Beethoven's Distant and Immortal Beloved.) Zürich: Standard.
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- 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 Beloved. 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 BrunsvikTeréz BrunszvikCountess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
s Nachlaß. (Beethoven and the Brunsviks. According to Family Documents from Therese BrunsvikTeréz BrunszvikCountess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
's Estate.) Leipzig: Siegel. - Ley, Stephan (1957): Aus Beethovens Erdentagen, chapter "Eine unsterbliche Geliebte Beethovens", pp. 78-85. Siegburg: Schmitt.
- Lockwood, Lewis (1997): "Film Biography as Travesty: Immortal Beloved and Beethoven." The Musical Quarterly, pp. 190-198.
- Marek, George R (1969): Ludwig van Beethoven. Biography of a Genius. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Massin, Jean & Brigitte (1970): Recherche de Beethoven. Paris: Fayard.
- Meredith, William (2000): "Mortal Musings: Testing the Candidacy of Almerie Esterházy against the Antonie Brentano Theory." Beethoven Journal 15/1, pp. 42-47.
- Meredith, William (2011): "Introduction", in Walden (2011), pp. ix-xxxiv.
- Newman, Ernest (1911): "A Beethoven Hoax?", The Musical Times 52/825, pp. 714-717.
- Newman, William S (1984): "Yet Another Major Beethoven Forgery by Schindler?", The Journal of Musicology Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 397-422.
- Pichler, Ernst (1994): Beethoven. Mythos und Wirklichkeit. (Beethoven. Myth and Reality.) Vienna: Amalthea.
- Pulkert, Oldrich (2000): "Beethoven's Unsterbliche Geliebte." [Beethoven's Immortal Beloved.] Beethoven Journal 15/1, pp. 2-18.
- Riezler, Walter (1962): Beethoven. Zürich: Atlantis (8th ed.). First published in 1936 (in German).
- Rolland, Romain (1928): Beethoven the Creator. The Great Creative Epochs: I. From the Eroica to the Appassionata. [Beethoven. Les grandes époques créatrices. I. De l’Héroïque à l’Appassionata.] Transl. Ernest Newman. New York: Garden City.
- Schindler, Anton (1840): Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven. (Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven.) Münster.
- 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.)
- Schmidt-Görg, Joseph (1969): "Neue Schriftstücke zu Beethoven und Josephine Gräfin Deym." [New Documents about Beethoven and Josephine Countess Deym.] Beethoven-Jahrbuch 1965/68, pp. 205–208. Bonn.
- 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 (1972): "New Light on Beethoven's Letter to an Unknown Woman." The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Oct.), pp. 572–587. - Solomon, Maynard (1988): Beethoven Essays, chapter "Recherche de Josephine DeymJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
". Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, pp. 157–165. - 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 (1998): Beethoven, 2nd ed., New York: Schirmer (1st ed. 1977). - 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. - Stadlen, Peter (1977): "Schindler's Beethoven Forgeries", The Musical Times Vol. 118, No. 1613, pp. 549-552.
- SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2001): "Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved: Evidence against Almerie Esterházy". Abstracts of Papers Read at the Meeting of the American Musicological Society, Sixty-Seventh Annual Meeting, November 15–18, p. 45. - 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-DeymJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
'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 Beloved." 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): "'A dear, enchanting girl who loves me and whom I love': New Facts about Beethoven's Beloved Piano Pupil Julie Guicciardi". Bonner Beethoven-Studien, vol. 8, pp. 89–152. - SteblinRita SteblinRita Katherine Steblin is a Canadian-born musicologist, noted for her archival work combining music history, iconography and genealogical research....
, Rita (2009a): "Beethovens 'Unsterbliche Geliebte': des Rätsels Lösung." (Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved": the Riddle Solved.) Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 64/2, pp. 4–17. - Steichen, Dana (1959): Beethoven's Beloved. New York: Doubleday.
- Sterba, Editha & Richard (1954): Beethoven and His Nephew: a Psychoanalytic Study of Their Relationship. New York: Pantheon. In German as Ludwig van Beethoven und sein Neffe. Tragödie eines Genies. Eine psychoanalytische Studie. Munich 1964.
- Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1983): Beethoven und seine "Unsterbliche Geliebte" Josephine Brunswick. Ihr Schicksal und der Einfluß auf Beethovens Werk. (Beethoven and his “Immortal Beloved” Josephine BrunsvikJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
. Her Fate and the Impact on Beethoven's Œuvre.) Zürich: Atlantis. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1987): "Beethoven and the Countess Josephine BrunswickJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
.” 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 DeymJosephine BrunsvikJosephine 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”...
." [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. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1993/1994): "Psychoanalysis and the Historiocritical Method: On Maynard 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:...
‘s Image of Beethoven." Beethoven Newsletter 8/3, pp. 84–92; 9/3, pp. 119–127. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1998): "Psychoanalyse und historisch-philologische Methode. Zu Maynard 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:...
s Beethoven- und Schubert-Deutungen." [Psychoanalysis and Historiocritical Method. On Maynard 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:...
's Interpretations of Beethoven and Schubert.] Analecta Musicologica 30/II, pp. 661–719. - Tellenbach, Marie-Elisabeth (1999): "Die Bedeutung des Adler-Gleichnisses in Beethovens Brief an Therese Gräfin Brunswick. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Biographie." [The Meaning of the Eagle Allegory in Beethoven’s Letter to Therese Countess Brunsvik. A Contribution to his Biography.] Die Musikforschung 4.
- Tenger, Mariam (1890): Beethoven's Unsterbliche Geliebte. [Beethoven's Immortal Beloved.] Bonn: Nusser.
- Thomas-San-Galli, Wolfgang A (1909): Die "Unsterbliche Geliebte" Beethovens, Amalie Sebald: Lösung eines Vielumstrittenen Problems. [Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved", Amalie Sebald: The Solution to a Much-Disputed Problem.] Halle: Hendel.
- Thomas-San-Galli, Wolfgang A (1910): Beethoven und die unsterbliche Geliebte: Amalie Sebald, Goethe, Therese BrunswikTeréz BrunszvikCountess Teréz Brunszvik de Korompa was a member of the Hungarian nobility, pedagoge and a follower of the Swiss Pestalozzi...
und anderes; mit Benutzung unbekannten Materials. [Beethoven and the Immortal Beloved: Amalie Sebald, Goethe, Therese Brunsvik and Others; Using Unknown Documents.] Munich: Wunderhorn. - Unger, Max (1910): Auf Spuren von Beethovens Unsterblicher Geliebten. [Traces of Beethoven's Immortal Beloved.] Langensalza.
- Walden, Edward (2002): "Beethoven's 'Immortal Beloved': Arguments in Support of the Candidacy of Bettina Brentano". The Beethoven Journal, vol. 17, no. 2: pp. 54-68.
- Walden, Edward (2011): Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved. Solving the Mystery. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow.