Beethoven Monument

Friedrich Schiller had to wait until 1839; the first one of Mozart (in Salzburg, Austria) was not unveiled until 1842; and the first one of Beethoven in Vienna, the city he spent most time in, was most associated with, and died in, was not created until 1880.

King Ludwig I of Bavaria was enthusiastic, but the response was otherwise not very promising: in Paris, Luigi Cherubini promised a special fund-raising concert but later changed his mind; in London, Beethoven's friend Sir George Smart and Ignaz Moscheles gave a benefit concert at the Drury Lane Theatre, including the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony, but it was poorly attended.

[1] Liszt returned to the concert stage for this purpose; he had earlier retired to compose and spend time with his family.

[1][3] Other musicians had been involved earlier: Robert Schumann offered to write a "Grande Sonate", have it published with gold trim and black binding, and use the proceeds of the sale for the building fund.

At Liszt's urgings, and only after he offered to bear the full cost himself, the committee engaged an architect and builders to construct the Beethoven Hall.

It was attended by a large number of prominent figures: King Frederick William IV of Prussia and his consort; Queen Victoria (as part of her first continental visit since acceding to the throne 8 years earlier)[3] and Prince Albert; Archduke Friedrich of Austria;[3] the composers Hector Berlioz, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Ignaz Moscheles and Félicien David; the conductors Charles Hallé and Sir George Smart; the baritones Josef Staudigl and Johann Baptist Pischek (1814-1873); the sopranos Jenny Lind and Pauline Viardot;[10] and Lola Montez.

[3][11] Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, who had both written major works for the piano to raise funds for the monument, were unable to be present.

[12] Richard Wagner did not attend, but he was certainly aware of the event, as he wrote to Liszt a week before the opening, proposing the erection of a similar statue to Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden.

[3] This was followed by an afternoon concert: Liszt played the Emperor Concerto and conducted the Fifth Symphony, and Spohr led the Coriolan Overture, an aria from the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, and the quartet and finale from Fidelio.

[3] The next day, Wednesday 13 August, there was a concert lasting four hours: it included Liszt's Festival Cantata for the Inauguration of the Beethoven Monument in Bonn (given twice, once without the royal guests, and again after their arrival), Beethoven's Egmont overture, a piano concerto by Weber, Leonora’s aria from Fidelio, a Mendelssohn aria, and the song Adelaide.

[3][13] Sir George Smart declared the facial features of the statue a good likeness of Beethoven, as did Ignaz Moscheles.