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51-516: Heinrich Carl Breidenstein (1796–1876) was Germany's first professor of musicology. He had held a post at Bonn University since 1823. In 1828 he had first expressed the idea of a monument to Beethoven in his native town. In 1832 he wrote an article suggesting the idea, "or, even better, a living memorial, one dedicated to art, Bildung , education, etc." Up to that time it had not been German or Austrian practice to erect statues of great cultural figures. Friedrich Schiller had to wait until 1839;

102-642: A "Grande Sonate", have it published with gold trim and black binding, and use the proceeds of the sale for the building fund. His Obolen auf Beethovens Monument: Ruinen, Trophäen, Palmen: grosse Sonate für das Pianoforte für Beethovens Denkmal, von Florestan und Eusebius ( Small Contribution to Beethoven’s Monument: Ruins, Trophies, Palms: Grand Sonata for the Pianoforte for Beethoven’s Memorial, by Florestan and Eusebius ) underwent some name changes. His publishers did not accept it in 1836, and so he revised it and had it published in 1839 as his Fantasie in C , Op. 17, with

153-413: A collection of life-sized cloth mannequins, bringing them to his concerts and having them placed in front row seats of theaters, and even introducing one of these dolls as his wife, is completely unsubstantiated. He was an avid collector, and did indeed collect dolls, sometimes taking one along on trips to amuse the children, of whom he was very fond. He never did learn to speak English, expressing himself in

204-603: A concerto for double bass), and participated in the first rehearsals at the King's Theatre, on 20 October 1794 and finally appeared as orchestra member in the opera Zenobia in Palmira , by Giovanni Paisiello , on 20 December 1794. After only a few months, he became very famous in London, and his brilliant career was to last till the end. Later he became intimate with the Prince Consort and

255-514: A dedication to Liszt. In the first movement, Schumann possibly alludes to a theme from Beethoven's song cycle An die ferne Geliebte ( To the Distant Beloved ) which if true, was also an allusion to his own "distant beloved", Clara Wieck , who was then separated from him in Paris, by order of her father Friedrich Wieck . In 1841 Felix Mendelssohn wrote his Variations sérieuses in D minor for

306-407: A famous encounter. " Two new and valuable, though but passing acquaintances were made by Beethoven this year, however - with Domenico Dragonetti, the greatest contrabassist known to history, and Johann Baptist Cramer , one of the greatest pianists. Dragonetti was not more remarkable for his astounding execution than for the deep, genuine musical feeling which elevated and ennobled it. He was now - in

357-468: A leave for a year, with a continuation in his wages, to go to the King's Theatre in London. That leave was extended for three more years afterwards, but finally Dragonetti never returned to Venice for more than a brief period during the French occupation of the city, 1805–1814. Dragonetti had no close family, but had many close friends in the musical world in London. The story that he kept and often traveled with

408-484: A lucrative offer from German impresario Johann Peter Salomon to visit England and conduct new symphonies with large orchestras. The visit was a huge success and generated some of his best known work. Another trip was therefore scheduled in 1794–1795. On that second occasion, Haydn met Dragonetti, who became a very good friend, and who visited him in Vienna in 1799. On that first trip to Vienna, Dragonetti also met Beethoven in

459-529: A mixture of Italian, English, French and Venetian dialect, but was an astute businessman, and in fact, helped his surviving family in Venice financially. The authoritative source for information on him is the book of Dr. Fiona Palmer, Domenico Dragonetti in England (1794–1846) pub. Oxford University Press. He left Venice on 16 September 1794, partly under the influence of his friend, Giovanni Battista Cimador (who composed

510-460: A piano concerto by Weber, Leonora’s aria from Fidelio , a Mendelssohn aria, and the song Adelaide . This was followed by a banquet for 550 guests at the Hotel Der Stern. The banquet was disrupted by the behaviour of Lola Montez , who danced on a table and embarrassed Liszt by insisting she was his guest at the celebrations and demanding a seat appropriate to her claimed status, thus upsetting

561-460: A pre-organised seating arrangement. This scandalised the Bonn authorities, and it redounded to Liszt himself, so much so that when Beethoven's centenary was celebrated in Bonn in 1870, he was not invited to attend. Sir George Smart declared the facial features of the statue a good likeness of Beethoven, as did Ignaz Moscheles. But Beethoven's assistant Anton Schindler was contemptuous of it. The statue

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612-525: Is also remembered today for the Dragonetti bow , which he developed throughout his life. Dragonetti was born in Venice, Italy of Pietro Dragonetti, a barber and amateur musician, and Caterina Calegari. He began playing the guitar and the double bass by himself on his father's instruments. He was soon noticed by Doretti, a violinist and composer of ball music, who took him along for public performance in Venice. At

663-547: The Missa solemnis and the 9th Symphony that evening. On the morning of the unveiling, Tuesday 12 August, the Mass in C major was performed in the Cathedral . Then the official unveiling was held. 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

714-451: The Battle of Vitoria . The premiere of this work, as well as of Beethoven's seventh symphony was performed on 8 December 1813 in the university's Festsaal, with Dragonetti leading the double basses. Dragonetti was known for his formidable strength and stamina. It was particularly important at a time when the role of the double bass in the orchestra was to assist the concertmaster in maintaining

765-640: The Duke of Leinster . He took part between 1816 and 1842, in forty-six concerts held by the Philharmonic Society of London . At the Italian Opera orchestra, he met the cellist Robert Lindley , who became his close friend and with whom he shared the stand during fifty-two years. They made a specialty at playing Arcangelo Corelli 's sonatas . At the age of 82, Dragonetti visited Bonn in August 1845 to participate in

816-587: The Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony , but it was poorly attended. Franz Liszt involved himself in the project in October 1839 when it became clear it was in danger of foundering through lack of financial support. Till then, the French contributions had totalled less than 425 francs; Liszt's own personal donation exceeded 10,000 francs. He contributed his advocacy and also his personal energies in concerts and recitals,

867-494: The "Dragonetti"; a Guarnerius "del Gesù" violin dated 1742, now known as the "Dragonetti-Walton"; a Gasparo da Salò violin; two Amati violins; one Lafont violin; a Stradivarius violin copy; 26 unnamed violins; a Gasparo da Salò viola; an Amati viola; a Hill viola; 5 unnamed violas; 6 cellos; a large cello; 3 guitars; 2 bassoons; 3 French horns. Mention is made of this on The Contrabass Shoppe web site which says... "There are various stories of how Dragonetti came into possession of

918-713: The 3-day music festival held as part of the inauguration of the Beethoven Monument there. Various major Beethoven works were conducted by Louis Spohr and Franz Liszt . He died in his Leicester square lodgings at the age of 83 and was buried on 23 April 1846 in the vaults of the Roman Catholic chapel of St Mary, Moorfields . In 1889, his remains were moved to the Roman Catholic cemetery at Wembley . Vincent Novello and Count Carlo Pepoli ( librettist of Vincenzo Bellini 's I puritani ) were among his most famous friends in London. In 1791–1792, Joseph Haydn accepted

969-553: The Palmer biography, a footnote refers to a 1906 account by C.P.A. Berenzi, who suggests that the instrument may have been made for the monks of St Peter's, Vicenza, by Gasparo da Salo, and acquired by the procurators of St Mark's to entice Dragonetti to remain in their employ." When he left for London in 1795, Dragonetti left many papers and manuscripts, including a Complete system of the double bass, or instruction book for that instrument , containing many elaborate exercises and studies, in

1020-661: The age of twelve, he was placed under the tuition of Berini, the best master for the double bass in Venice, who decided after only eleven lessons that he could not teach the boy anything more. At the age of thirteen, Dragonetti was appointed principal player at the Opera Buffa in Venice. At fourteen he was appointed principal double bass player in the Grand Opera Seria at the San Benedetto theatre. When about eighteen, in Treviso , he

1071-419: The appearance of life and nature, and makes one understandable and clear by means of the other...." In 1821 he graduated at Giessen with a dissertation "On the beautiful in music". In 1822 Breidenstein was appointed university music director at Bonn , where he was a lecturer, and from 1826 professor of musicology ; it was the first time in the modern history of German universities that a chair of musicology

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1122-432: The bent thumb, go up and down the fingerboard each playing a note. (Caffi, 1855) This was not at all standard in these times, as most players used to play—in one position—one note with the index finger, and one with the other three fingers in combination. Dragonetti was a lover of the fine arts, and a collector of musical instruments as well as many art-related articles, such as original scores and paintings. When he died,

1173-556: The choral society of Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut , a jurist and amateur musician. Becoming interested in music through Thibaut, he gave lectures in Cologne from 1821 to 1823 on his system of harmony, described in an article in the Allgemeine Leipziger Musikzeitung : "Breidenstein pursued, in a clever presentation, a path not trodden before. He explains his system through the basic doctrines of philosophy and through

1224-481: The cohesion and establishing the tempo. He had large hands with strong, broad fingers, which allowed him to play with a taller bridge and strings twice as far from the fingerboard as the other bassists. The physical quality is his huge hand: endowed, first of all, with prodigious strength so that its grip on the strings of the instrument is the equivalent of the grip of a blacksmith's vice... A hand endowed with five fingers so long, big and agile, that all five, including

1275-484: The court organist in 1824, and professor of composition at the Vienna Conservatorium in 1851. He wrote piano accompaniments to some of his concert pieces, and they maintained a lifelong correspondence. Dragonetti was again in Vienna in 1813 and got to meet once more Beethoven, who had just written Wellington's Victory , to celebrate the victory of Wellington over the French armies of King Joseph Bonaparte at

1326-463: The desire to hear a sonata. The contrabass was sent for, and the Sonata, n°2, of Op.5 , was selected. Beethoven played his part, with his eyes immovably fixed upon his companion, and, in the finale, where the arpeggios occur, was so delighted and excited that at the close he sprang up and threw his arms around both player and instrument". The unlucky contrabassists of orchestras had frequent occasions during

1377-417: The famous Gasparo da Salo bass. The fascinating and highly commendable biography Domenico Dragonetti In England by Fiona M. Palmer (Clarendon Press Oxford 1997) seems to offer the most plausible account. Because of Dragonetti's unprecedented virtuosity as a soloist, attractive offers of work were made from both London and Moscow. As remuneration for renouncing the offers and remaining as principal bassist with

1428-591: 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. On 17 December 1835, the "Bonn Association for the Beethoven Monument", headed by the famous translator of Shakespeare, August Wilhelm Schlegel , issued a call for a permanent memorial to Beethoven, which

1479-512: The following instruments were dispatched: a giant double bass attributed to Gasparo da Salò and stated to have been used in contemporary performances of Handel 's music, which is now conserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; a very fine Domenico Montagnana Basso di Camera (from Venice); a Gasparo da Salò double bass dated 1590; an Amati double bass; a Maggini double bass; a Stradivarius violin (once played by Paganini), now known as

1530-705: The musical life of the city. Breidenstein was born in 1796 in Steinau an der Straße , Hesse , son of Friedrich Ernst Breidenstein, schoolteacher and organist, and his wife Juliane. He was educated at a Gymnasium in Hanau , then studied law in Berlin and later in Heidelberg , where he turned to studying philology . He became a senior teacher at the Gymnasium in Heidelberg, also joining

1581-431: The musicians who were to perform the music. The orchestra was made up of players from provincial orchestras from the area. The double basses included the world famous Domenico Dragonetti , who had known Beethoven and was then 82, but was still an able performer. He was dead within less than a year. The Beethovenfest (Beethoven Festival) started on Sunday 10 August 1845. Louis Spohr , who had known Beethoven, conducted

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1632-524: The next few years to know that this new revelation of the powers and possibilities of their instrument to Beethoven was not forgotten. " ( Alexander Wheelock Thayer , 1867) To this day, the mastering of the Beethoven double bass symphonic parts are considered a basic standard for all orchestral double bass players. Dragonetti came back to Vienna for an extensive stay in 1808-1809. On that second trip he became friends with composer Simon Sechter , who would become

1683-498: The orchestra of the King's Theatre , and settled there for the remainder of his life. In fifty years, he became a prominent figure in the musical events of the English capital, performing at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society of London as well as in more private events, where he would meet the most influential persons in the country, like the Prince Consort and the Duke of Leinster . He

1734-611: The orchestra of the Ducal Chapel of St Mark's in Venice (an orchestra of considerable importance), a decree made in 1791 gave Dragonetti a financial gratuity. Similarly, it is reputed that Dragonetti was presented with an instrument made by Gasparo da Salo (1542–1609) by the Benedictine nuns who occupied St Peter's monastery in Vicenza where Dragonetti lived and played in the Grand Opera. In

1785-455: The piano to raise funds for the monument, were unable to be present. Frédéric Chopin declined to attend as he detested bombastic public ceremonial. 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. A parchment signed by all the visiting dignitaries

1836-469: The principal bassist. He later was offered a place by the Tsar of Russia, which was declined and got him a salary raise in the chapel. He became very famous at the time, started playing solo pieces, which was exceptional at the time for the double bass, and even got elected as one of the directors of a musical festival held for the coming of fourteen sovereign princes to the republic of Venice . One of his concertos

1887-569: The proceeds of which went towards the construction fund. One such concert was his last public appearance with Frédéric Chopin , a pair of piano duo concerts held at the Salle Pleyel and the Conservatoire de Paris on 25 and 26 April 1841. The sole condition of Liszt's involvement was that the sculptor of the statue of Beethoven should be the Italian, Lorenzo Bartolini . In the event, the contract

1938-416: The project. The unveiling was originally scheduled for 6 August 1843, but was postponed to 12 August 1845. On 12 May 1845, Schlegel died. His place as head of the organising committee was taken by the instigator of the idea, Heinrich Breidenstein. The official unveiling of the Beethoven Monument was to be the high point of a 3-day Beethoven Festival. A month before the festival was due to commence, there

1989-558: The spring of 1799, so far as the means are at hand of determining the time - returning to London from a visit to his native city, Venice, and his route took him to Vienna, where he remained several weeks. Beethoven and he soon met and they were mutually pleased with each other. Many years afterwards Dragonetti related the following anecdote to Samuel Appleby, Esq., of Brighton, England: "Beethoven had been told that his new friend could execute violoncello music upon his huge instrument and one morning, when Dragonetti called at his room, he expressed

2040-451: The throne 8 years earlier) and Prince Albert ; Archduke Friedrich of Austria ; 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 ; and Lola Montez . Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn , who had both written major works for

2091-503: The work if it were to be played at all, but this did not please the Bonn committee, so the plan was dropped. That evening there was a spectacular fireworks display. 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,

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2142-403: Was acquainted with composers Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven , whom he visited on several occasions in Vienna , and to whom he showed the possibilities of the double bass as a solo instrument. His ability on the instrument also demonstrated the relevance of writing scores for the double bass in the orchestra separate from that of the cello , which was the common rule at the time. He

2193-582: Was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer with a 3 string double bass. He stayed for thirty years in his hometown of Venice, Italy and worked at the Opera Buffa , at the Chapel of San Marco and at the Grand Opera in Vicenza . By that time he had become notable throughout Europe and had turned down several opportunities, including offers from the Tsar of Russia . In 1794, he finally moved to London to play in

2244-531: Was awarded to a German, Ernst Julius Hähnel (1811–1891). The casting was done by Jakob Daniel Burgschmiet of Nuremberg. Liszt returned to the concert stage for this purpose; he had earlier retired to compose and spend time with his family. He also wrote a special work for occasion of the unveiling, Festival Cantata for the Inauguration of the Beethoven Monument in Bonn , S.67 ( Festkantate zur Enthüllung des Beethoven-Denkmals in Bonn ). Other musicians had been involved earlier: Robert Schumann offered to write

2295-418: Was created. His lectures covered the history, theory, aesthetics and psychology of music. He was active, as organizer and conductor, in the musical life of Bonn, founding an orchestra and choral society. The Beethoven Monument in Bonn, unveiled in 1845, was his suggestion. Breidenstein died in Bonn in 1876. Domenico Dragonetti Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti (7 April 1763 – 16 April 1846)

2346-519: Was invited to join the quartet of the Tommasini, and was noticed by Morosini, procurator of San Marco , who indulged him in auditioning for the admission in the Chapel of San Marco. He made a first attempt in 1784, which was lost to Antonio Spinelli. He finally joined the institution on 13 September 1787 as the last of the five double bass players of the chapel with a yearly income of 25 ducats . He soon became

2397-465: Was not a suitable venue to hold the expected 3,000 attendees. 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. By the time they finally started, they had less than two weeks to do this, and had to work around the clock to finish it on time. Fortunately, a little more attention had been paid to

2448-640: Was particularly remarked by the queen of Naples . When in Vicenza for an engagement at the Grand Opera there, he acquired his famous Gasparo da Salò double bass from the Benedictine Nuns of the Convent of San Pietro (La Pieta) in Vicenza, which is now housed in the museum of St Mark's Basilica . He was offered another position to the Tsar of Russia, which he declined after the procurators of St Mark increased his salary to an exceptional 50 ducats. They even granted him

2499-523: Was removed from its plinth for restoration and cleaning in January 2022. The work took six months. 50°44′03″N 7°05′57″E  /  50.73429°N 7.09919°E  / 50.73429; 7.09919 Heinrich Carl Breidenstein Heinrich Carl Breidenstein (28 February 1796 – 12 July 1876) was a German musicologist . In Bonn he was university professor of musicology, and active in

2550-653: Was sealed in a lead casket inside the monument. 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 . It was originally proposed that Berlioz's Requiem would be played; Berlioz insisted that he, and only he, conduct

2601-521: Was sent to all the principal musical publications in Germany, France, and England. 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

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