Finding Ludwig

When I was here in Wien 35 years ago, I went on a pretty serious quest for Beethoven sites; where he lived, loved, performed.  It wasn't easy back then as it wasn't as popular a sport: composer stalking. 

Nowadays here there's whole piles of articles about where/what/how/when and why the great maestro ate, ranted (all the time), screwed (all the time), made money (not all the time) and all the devout stalker need do is follow the well marked trail.  

But that doesn't mean it's correct. 

Because I have a special connection with the Ludster, I wanted to revisit some old spots and dig deeper into some new ones.  And it's been a blast.  
Beethoven spent most of his adult life in Wien and he lived in over 80!!! spots around town....mostly due to the fact he was a TERRIBLE tenant; wouldn't pay the rent, broke stuff, tortured his neighbors and basically was evicted from every place he rented.  But a couple of kind hearted souls wanted to help the B out and were willing to put up with the constant abuse. The most famous is the Pasqualati house

 where B lived for over 8 years, writing a good number of his famous symphonies and the opera Fidelio and "fur elise" (and of course you know it's really FUR THERESE ....MALFATTI BRUNSWICK.  aka nastly teenage prim who turned our boy down. It was misnamed by a bad French editor but Baroness Therese kept the original composition til she died).  

Walking up that old staircase to the 4th floor, one is very much aware of walking in Beethoven's footsteps and that's about as close as you'll get to him on this one.

  You pay to see what they tell you is B's apartment but REALLY it's the apartment (#20) next door that is where he lived.

  The museum you see is really a sad mess now....nothing's left but B's piano.

  But the fun part for me was proving the exhibit manager wrong and to beg him to stop lying to visitors about the space.  
How did I figure it?? 2 things.  1.  Beethoven needed/wanted decent light so he got really pissed off one day and knocked out an outside wall to expand one window to two.  And boy, the concierge was furious! But Pasqualati calmly got the joiner to come in and make a double window WHICH IS STILL VISIBLE AT APT 20.  
2. Beethoven wanted to see the Vienna hills out said new window and he wanted to see the BIGGGG park below him.  
based on this picture, B's apt had to be #20 to face the view he wanted.  Sadly, I couldn't get into #20 this time (I did last time).  But at least I could pin down his home.  

Next one.  I lOVEEEEEEE this story.  Beethovens stone deaf, half whacked and FINALLY has finished his 5 year late Symphony #9.  Of course he was a monster to the orchestra and chorus for this epic to the point he had to have another conductor step in to lead the orchestra.  Beethoven was no where to be seen for the performance til over half way thru it, he just marched up on to the stage and stood there.  He then proceeded to basically fling himself all over the place 'conducting' what he could only hear in his head.  Fortunately the orchestra was only paying attention to the other conductor. BUT when it was all over, our B boy was still just standing facing the orchestra.  The solo soprano very gently tapped his shoulder to turn him around to face and audience that was out of their minds with joy for this masterpiece!  Of course Beethoven couldn't hear the thunderous applause but he finally got the appreciation he had sought his whole life.  
BUT WHERE WAS THIS PERFORMANCE?? and the bigger question to me: why didn't anybody really know....TIL TODAY. 

Digging deep into the original advertisements for this concert, I found it was to be premiered at the Karnnertor/Hopopertheater which stood from 1709-1870. 

Looking it up I found it was supposed to be where the current Sacher (yup, the place where those evil chocolate cakes come from) Hotel and cake factory.

  I waltzed in to the hotel this morning and found the head concierge to ask some questions but he said it wasn't there, it was across the street...and it was private property now so I couldn't get in.  BUT he suggested I look at the old Sacher history book and maybe it might give me some info.  BINGO.  
Inside said book was a plat drawing of where the original theater was which was right smack inside Vienna's most famous coffee house, the Cafe Mozart.

  

Realizing the old theater was probably deep in this famous restaurant's kitchen, I stopped in and introduced myself to the maitre'd who was so interested that he took me thru the kitchen, the back offices and the basement!! And so I felt that the 9th Symphony was in great company because of course, Cafe Mozart was the place where Graham Greene wrote the most famous movie screenplay from Wien....the Third Man.  

And to say thank you for supplying them with this oh so important history (not), I got a prime table AT LUNCH TIME and enjoyed myself immensely.   

We'll never know who Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved" really was but I left him my hankie tied to his gravestone (he did love a lady's hankerchief) to remind him that we hear his final words which he repeated over and over in the last movement of the 9th....

"Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star canopy
must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced, this kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods."

Love from the road. I'm off to Budapest tomorrow.  Wien has been an amazing return, a long lost love.  I am blessed.