Clive Brown

The orchestra in Beethoven's Vienna

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1 The old Burgtheater. Vienna. This photograph was taken shortly before its demolition in 1867. Beethoven's First Symphony was
premiered here in 1800. Large-scale oratorio performances by the Tonkiinstler Societat were also given here during the early 19th century,
despite cramped conditions.

Anton Schindler remarked of Beethoven's experience Schindler did not come to know Beethoven until
of Viennese orchestras: 'This chapter in the personal around 1814, and his accounts of events and situations,
experiences of the great master was one of the most which were frequently slanted or even plain falsified
painful, and could not have failed to leave scars that to support the view of himself and his master that he
he bore till the end of his days'. He went on to say: wished the world to accept, have justly been treated
with caution; but there are good grounds for believing
All German orchestras right up to the present day have this that his damning assessment of Viennese orchestras is
sin in common: they are insufficiently and poorly rehearsed. pretty close to the mark. A mass of evidence from
Even if Beethoven, who had no official jurisdiction over the
contemporary sources supports the notion that
orchestra, had been willing to sacrifice all the financial
benefit to achieve the best possible performance of his Beethoven's time in Vienna coincided with a parti-
music, he would not have been able to wring it out of the cularly troubled period in the history of the orchestra
musicians. If the composer was able to get them to play the not only in that city but throughout Europe. The
correct notes in one. or at the most two. rehearsals, he had to reasons for this situation are complex. Some of the
be satisfied with the results. As for . . . deeper nuances. causes were purely musical, while others arose from
Viennese orchestras lacked both the capacity and the interest' social and political trends. The ramifications of the

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

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French Revolution and the periodic bouts of military now that the paper money has declined to about half of its
activity that disturbed Europe for some twenty-five nominal value, does not provide for the bare necessities of
years led to social disruption, economic stringencies life So one cannot be surprised to find only dejection and
and, ultimately, to financial crisis in Austria In the disgust prevailing in most of the orchestras A considerable
musical sphere this was reflected in, among other number of the players are feeble old men who should have
been pensioned off long ago, but who remain in service in
things, the virtual disappearance of the princely
order to earn enough money to make ends meet3
musical establishments, an unstable administration of
the court theatres, poor pay and conditions for Much of the vitality of Viennese concert life at this
professional musicians and the inadequate provision period, however, stemmed from the involvement of
of rehearsal time All this made Viennese orchestras dilettanti Unlike the bulk of professional musicians,
less fitted to cope with a number of far-reaching they were motivated largely by love of music or by
musical developments which even at the best of times social considerations; but when participating in orch-
would have seriously taxed the adaptability and estral ventures it seems probable that they considered
dedication of orchestral musicians The orchestral their own enjoyment before that of their audience
scores of Beethoven and his younger contemporaries There is no evidence that any of the amateur organ-

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presented unfamiliar technical and stylistic difficulties izations rehearsed intensively, while some, such as the
for individual players as well as causing serious Concerts Spintuels, not infrequently performed with-
problems of ensemble, rendering 18th-century per- out any rehearsal at all. It is difficult to agree with Otto
formance conventions and methods of direction Biba's assertion that a dilettante was 'a trained musician
inadequate for their performance Yet, especially in who played his instrument perfectly, but for his own
Vienna, musicians were slow to adapt to the demands pleasure rather than for a living simply a performer
of the new music In the harsher economic environ- of professional calibre with amateur status'.4 Some
ment of that time a substantial proportion of dilettanti were undoubtedly very accomplished, but
professional musicians were forced to concern them- others were, equally certainly, far less so A writer in
selves primarily with earning their living through the 1800 observed
fulfilment of as many paid engagements as possible,
There can be few cities where amateur musical activity is so
dedication to the cause of music had to take second
universal as here All play, all learn music Naturally there
place For instance, it was remarked of the Italian are some excellent dilettanti among this great multitude, but
Opera company of the Hoftheater in 1800 they are not so common as before People regard music too
lightly, as if it were to be learned in passing, they believe they
the orchestra certainly is not lacking in brave fellows, but can do everything immediately, excusing themselves ulti-
rather in good will, team spirit and love of art This unselfish mately with the word Dilettante, and take the whole thing
love seems to be wholly unknown to them, thus the more as a matter of gallantry and correct social behaviour
ensemble of the orchestra is frequently poor it often
appears as if half the orchestra is filled with substitutes He went on to lament 'The fortunes of visiting artists
whom the gentlemen of the orchestra send when they have often lie in the hands of these dilettanti, who really
another engagement or are pursuing their own pleasure, the frequently possess little knowledge but who are often
resulting effect can easily be imagined 2 very partisan' 5
Eight years later, J F Reichardt had some hard words There is nothing to suggest that the first two decades
to say about the standard of orchestral playing in of the 19th century saw any appreciable improvement
Vienna, comparing it very unfavourably with the state in standards either among amateurs or professionals
of affairs at the time of his earlier visit in 1783 He In the diary which Michael Frey, a pupil of Spohr who
painted a gloomy picture of the condition of the later became Hofkapellmetster in Mannheim, kept during
musical profession, observing: his stay in Vienna in 1815-16, there is a revealing
vignette of a musical evening at the house of a certain
Music suffers here from the inertia and dejected condition of Hildebrand He described it in the following terms:
most of the musicians It seems to me as if they hardly ever
bring zeal and goodwill to bear on their work in the They did not once hit their notes, played completely out of
orchestra, without which a clean and powerful ensemble can time and were so complacent about it that they could
never be attained They generally complain about the low certainly not hear it The only other violin was played by a
pay, which in most cases remains the same as it was in the member of the orchestra of the Theater an der Wien He was
past when the cost of living was very much lower, but which. the best of a bad lot'

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

Other comments in Frey's diary support the picture of a Having discussed the various merits and demerits of
very uneven level of competence in Viennese musical the London, Paris, Naples and Munich orchestras, he
life went on to describe the Viennese orchestra's excellence
In Reichardf s view the decline in standards, parti- in a performance of Sahen's Axur where he had the
cularly with respect to the organization and personnel opportunity to experience
of the theatre orchestras, had by the first decade of the a manner and method of expressing the dying fall of passion
19th century become a self-perpetuating situation He which were till then unknown to me As the storm of excited
observed: passion gradually sank to exhaustion and the most violent
The worst thing is that, as a result of this inadequate state of agitation gave way to milder feelings, so the orchestra
affairs, artists and public alike become accustomed to allowed the beat to relax in the most perfect accord with the
defective and imperfect performances, convinced that per- singers and the melodies to ebb away more and more slowly,
fection can never be achieved or demanded 7 as the mood was intended to become more and more gentle
When the passion grew again, so the pulse became more
It is highly likely that, human nature being what it is, impetuous and emphatic, and they also accelerated the flow
the generally prevailing conditions bred complacency of the melody with rare unanimity of ensemble l0

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and an acceptance of far lower standards in orchestral
This peak of excellence came at the end of an era,
playing than those of which the best Viennese musicians
the material stability and stylistic certainty which lay
were capable This is brought home strongly by an
at its root were already under threat from powerful
article assessing the qualities of the Nationaltheater
external and internal forces Uncongenial economic
orchestra in 1802. Having enthusiastically described a
conditions and the unfamiliar demands of contem-
recent performance, the writer went on to say:
porary music necessitated the momentous changes in
Anyone who knows that the united Vienna Nationaltheater attitudes towards orchestra size, composition, layout,
orchestra is only to be compared with three or at the most direction and performance practices which took place
four other German orchestras, will not in any way be
during the following decades The transition was not
astonished by the abovementioned kind of performance,
however, one might ask Why does one not always hear it accomplished painlessly
thus7 - Why on other occasions, even in this orchestra, does Orchestra size and constitution
the Turkish drum assault the ears of the listeners with
unrestrained force at every opportunity, and make the whole The main focus for professional orchestral playing was
thing rock and shake7 - Why, in the entr'acts of the spoken the theatre. As early as 1764, when Florian Gassmann
theatre, does the orchestra so often, when the curtain goes was Kapellmeister, the two theatres which comprised
up, come to a halt after the first half of a section, and the Hoftheater (the Burgtheater and the Karntnertor-
frequently on a dissonance9 - The foreigner who hears this theater) had separate orchestras, each of which,
may well comprehend the gracious indulgence of the public, according to an early 19th-century account, was 'not
but at the same time he will take away with him a very poor strong, but well-manned, in the proportion of 6 first, 6
opinion of the ears of the musicians and of their skill In the second violins, 3 double-basses etc ' " Between 1778,
many performances of Die Zauberflote this very orchestra has
when Joseph II instituted a German Opera company,
not yet once performed the overture without error The
articulation of the bass strings is continually lost through and 1806 (with a hiatus in 1787-94) there was both an
the exaggerated rapidity of the tempo Instead of the Italian and a German company at the Hoftheater, each
precisely calculated effect of regular syncopation, the whole with its own orchestra In 1781 the German Opera
thing was like a comic horse race where one almost fell over company consisted of two Kapellmeister, Saheri and
the other8 Umlauf, 18 principal singers, a chorus of 30 and an
orchestra of 37 players, including 6 first and 6 second
This seems a far cry from the situation that had existed
violins, 3 cellos and 3 basses, though it was augmented
just before Beethoven's arrival in Vienna, when a well-
when necessary 12 In about 1785 Paul Wranitzsky
travelled visitor to the city in 1790 recorded his
became Orchesterdirektor and remained so until his
enthusiastic admiration for the orchestra of the Italian
death in 1808.
Opera in the following terms:
Such order rules here, such a rare unanimity of ensemble, Since music was required for overtures, entr'acts
depending not merely on the beat, and such an equal and and incidental music even in spoken theatre, a second
unanimous feeling in the subtleties of expression, that no orchestra remained in existence between 1787 and
orchestra in Europe surpasses it either in details or as a 1794 despite the disbandment of the German company.
whole' On its reinstitution in 1794 the German company, with

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

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2 Sketch of the orchestra pit and stage of the Kamtnertortheater in 1821. Drawn by the theatre costumier, Franz Strdber, shortly after the
refurbishment of the theatre in 1821, it shows the arrangement of music stands for the orchestra. It tallies closely with Gassner's sketch
published in 1844 and shows, in addition, that the desk for the Violindirektor was raised slightly higher than the others.

Siissmayr as Kapellmeister, seems generally to have At Easter 1806 the Italian company was disbanded;
performed in the Burgtheater, while the Italian com- some singers were taken into the German company
pany under the direction of Salieri and Weigl performed and presumably the orchestras were reorganized.
at the Kamtnertortheater. The two companies were Salieri stood at the head of the new company with
not, however, on an equal footing; the Italian was the Weigl, Gyrowetz, Rosier and Umlauf as his deputies.
more prestigious and the orchestra seems to have Details of the financial and administrative reorgan-
received higher pay, therefore attracting the better ization of 1806 are unclear, but it is possible that the
players.13 best players from both orchestras were amalgamated
Whereas in 1764 the two court theatres each had an to form the new opera orchestra, while the rest
orchestra of approximately the same size, it appears supplied an orchestra for the necessary incidental
that by the beginning of the 19th century the Italian music in spoken drama productions. Opera was still
Opera orchestra may have been somewhat larger, for a given at both court theatres, though the Karntnertor
reviewer in 1800 mentioned that it contained five five- was increasingly favoured. It officially became the
stringed double basses.l4 By analogy with the orchestra Hofoperntheater in 1819. In 1817 Salieri was still
at the Theater an der Wien in 1804, this implies an principal Kapellmeister, with Weigl, Gyrowetz and
orchestra of about 16 violins, 4 violas, 3 or 4 cellos, 5 Umlauf as his subordinates, while Anton Wranitzsky
basses and the usual wind instruments, giving a total was Orchesterdirektor and Klorschinsky Vice-Orchester-
complement of around 45. The Orchesterdirektor of the direktor, it is not possible to determine the precise size
Italian orchestra between 1796(?) and 1804 was Jacomo of the orchestra at that time (it probably depended on
Conti, who was described in 1800 as 'not equal to his the music being performed on any particular occasion),
position',15 and whose incompetence was blamed for but it is likely that it was somewhat larger than it had
many of the orchestra's failings. There is no reliable been 20 years earlier.
evidence as to the size of the German orchestra in A writer in 1826 attributed the financial difficulties
1800, but it is likely that it still consisted of about 40 of the Hoftheater under Domenico Barbaja to 'an over-
players. full orchestra, which besides five Kapellmeisters -

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

 in Vienna to maintain a regular professional orchestra
Proscenium.
was the Hofkapelle. The main function of this orchestra
was to accompany the religious services in the Imperial
1 1 Chapel. Between 1793 and 1824 Salieri was Kapell-
' : Vrjikp-V'lr ' •' meister and after him Joseph Eybler. Vincent Novello,
who heard them perform in 1829, noted: 'Good band,
though small, several of the opera orchestra. Service
Parterre conducted by Eybler. . . There were not many per-
formers, but all efficient." At that time the orchestra
J Plan of the orchestra layout at the Karntnertortheater, from included the four leading Viennese violinists Ignaz
Gassner's Dirigent und Ripienist (Karlesruhe, 1844), Beilage no. 10
Schuppanzigh, Joseph Mayseder, Joseph Bohm and
Leopold Jansa. Personnel lists show that in addition to
Messrs Weigl, Gyrowetz, Kreutzer, Wurfel and Krebs - pairs of the usual wind players, there were 15 violinists
contains three music directors — Messrs Katter. Hilde- (presumably including violas who were not listed
brand and Schindler, three solo players - Messers separately) in 1793 and 12 in 1825; there were normally
Mayseder(violin), Merk(cello) andHeilingmayer(harp), 2 (occasionally 3) each of cellos and basses.20 An entry
as well as a chorus of eighty'.I6 The total number in the in the 1825 diary of Sir George Smart confirms the size
orchestra is not stated in this account, but in 1829 of the orchestra: "Mr Eybler was the Director - standing
Vincent Novello noted that the orchestra at the at a desk facing the Altar- on his right in 2 rows were
Karntnertor consisted of 10 first violins, 8 seconds, 4 12 violins 2 viole 2 cellos and 2 basses.'21 This
each of violas, cellos and basses, and the usual description agrees with a plan given by Gassner in

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complement of wind.17 A plan of the orchestra pub- 1844 (illus.4). In 1827. according to Edward Holmes,
lished in Gassner's Dirigent und Ripienist in 1844 tallies the orchestra sometimes performed 'Sinfonias and
exactly with Franz Strober's engraving of 1821 showing other full instrumental pieces' at parts of the service
an orchestra of 8 firsts, 6 seconds, 4 each of violas, where an organ voluntary was usual in England.22
cellos and basses, 2 each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, One of the few concert organizations to use exclu-
bassoons and trumpets, 3 trombones, 4 horns, harp, sively professional musicians in its orchestra was the
timpani and percussion. These illustrations clearly Tonkiinstler Societat, which had been founded in 1771
show that some of the violins, including the Orchester- with the aim of raising funds for the support of the
direktor, faced the stage while the basses faced out widows and orphans of musicians. It generally gave
towards the audience; the other instruments faced four concerts a year, with oratorio figuring prominently
sideways so that they could see both the Kapellmeister in its programmes. For orchestral concerts relatively
and the Orchesterdirektor (see illus.2 and 3). modest forces were utilized; at the concerts on 15 and
At the beginning of the 19th century, regular 16 April 1792, the year of Beethoven's arrival in
orchestras were also maintained at the Theater an der Vienna, there was an orchestra of 6 first violins, 6
Wien. and two other suburban theatres: the Joseph- seconds, 4 violas, 3 cellos and 3 basses, with the usual
stadter and the Leopoldstadter where, throughout the complement of wind.23 But the oratorio performances
period, the orchestras were considered distinctly were commonly given with much larger numbers; for
inferior. In 1804 the orchestra at the Theater an der the first performance of Haydn's Die Schopfung in 1800
Wien was of a similar size to the orchestra of the it is reported that an orchestra of almost 200 was
German opera at the same date. There were two used.24 Handel's Judas Maccabeus in 1806 and Eybler's
Kapellmeister, von Seyfried and Teyber, and the orch- Die vier letzten Dinge in 1810 were given with similar
estra, whose director was Franz Clement, totalled 38, forces, while for Beethoven's Christus am Olberge in
including 6 first violins, 6 second violins. 2 cellos and 1817 a smaller but still very sizeable orchestra of
4 basses.18 Firm information on the size of the around 100, containing 20 first violins, 20 seconds, 8
orchestras at the theatres in the Josephstadt (where violas, 7 cellos and 7 basses, was employed.25
Beethoven's amanuensis. Anton Schindler. was In addition to these regular performances given by
Orchesterdirektor from 1822 to 1826) and the Leopold- entirely professional ensembles, professional musi-
stadt is not available. cians took part in musical enterprises sponsored by
Apart from the theatres, the only other organization noble and wealthy amateurs, and in the numerous

8 EARLi MUSIC FEBRUARY 1908

concerts (Akademien) mounted by resident and visiting Among the most durable of the largely amateur
virtuosi and composers. The majority of public con- orchestral associations were the Augarten Concerts,
certs, however, were given by orchestras containing a an annual series usually consisting of twelve summer
high proportion of amateurs; only a few were given concerts given on Thursday mornings at 7.00 or 7.30
entirely by professionals. The opera orchestras did a.m. These began in 1782 and continued until about
perform overtures, symphonies and even concertos as 1811. On 18 May 1782 Mozart wrote to his father: 'The
entr'acte music in the theatres, but there was nothing orchestra is composed of amateurs except for the
approaching a fully professional concert orchestra in bassoons, trumpets and timpani'.26 A reviewer in 1799
Vienna until six years after Beethoven's death, when reported that, apart from the wind and the basses, all
Franz Lachner gave a series of carefully rehearsed the other sections of the orchestra were numerously
concerts with the orchestra of the Hofoper. Lachner's stocked with amateurs.27 Another review from the
departure from Vienna in 1834 brought this experiment following year complained that though the room was
to an end, and there was no serious attempt to emulate excellent, 'the orchestra is badly placed (right in the
it until Otto Nicolai instituted the Philharmonic Con- middle without the least elevation)', and gave the

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certs in 1842. impression that the concerts had progressively fallen
off in standard.28 The Augarten Concerts were directed
4 Plan of the layout of the choir and orchestra in the Hofkapelle from about 1795 by Ignaz Schuppanzigh, whose close
(Gassner op. cit. Beilage no 12) connection with Beethoven ensured that the pro-
grammes included many of Beethoven's compositions;
his overtures, piano concertos (performed by Czerny
and Ries among others) and his first five symphonies
were frequently performed here, with Beethoven parti-
cipating in the direction. There is, however, no evidence
for the size of the orchestra.
During the years 1803-1807 a series of winter
orchestral concerts was given under the auspices of
the banker, von Wiirth, on Sundays at midday in his
own house. The orchestra consisted largely of amateurs,
but was directed by Franz Clement. These concerts,
though not strictly speaking public, were considered
important enough to be reviewed in the Leipzig
Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. Distinguished soloists
including Kalkbrenner, Thieriot and Ries performed
concertos there and the series also included early
performances of such works as Eberl's Symphony in
E flat op.33 and, much more significantly, Beet-
hoven's 'Eroica' on 3 January 1805. The orchestra was
described in 1804 as 'a very powerful company (con-
sisting almost entirely of amateurs)'.29
Evidence suggests that in the early years of the
century a moderate sized orchestra with 6 to 8 first
violins and the rest in proportion (the normal size of
the theatre orchestras), was typical for purely orches-
tral concerts. This would presumably have been the
size of the orchestra at Beethoven's Akademien on 2
April 1800 and 22 December 1808 where he used
wholly professional players (the Italian Opera orchestra
and the Theater an der Wien orchestra respectively).
For concerts such as tnose of von Wiirth, which took
place in private houses, an orchestra larger than this

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

seems improbable However, it is unlikely that per- was to lead directly to the formation of the Gesell-
formances which were given for an audience rather schaft der Musikfreunde took place in the Imperial
than merely for a few friends or simply for the Reitschule A performance of Handel's Alexander's
enjoyment of the performers were much smaller than 6 Feast with Mozart's orchestration was given by a
first violins, 6 seconds, 3 or 4 violas, 3 or 4 cellos, 2 or 3 chorus of 280 and an orchestra of 310, in aid of the
basses and the usual complement of wind. Otto Biba victims of a fire at Baden. This was even more massive
has rightly pointed out that Beethoven's letter of 1813 than the Tonkiinstler Societat concerts and the venue,
to the Archduke Rudolf suggesting forces of 8 violins, used here for the first time in this way, allowed a much
4 violas, 2 cellos and 2 basses for his symphonies finer effect than the cramped and acoustically un-
clearly applies to the minimum necessary for a private grateful Burgtheater The layout, together with details
play-through 30 This supposition is supported by details of amateur and professional participation, is given in a
of the numbers involved in early performances of the contemporary plan The positioning of solo instru-
'Eroica' Symphony which took place under the auspices ments in the forefront with the singers, shown in the
of Prince Lobkovitz in 1804 and 1805, for which 1812 illustration, was clearly dictated both by the
payments to musicians are preserved in the Prince's nature of the piece and the size of the forces involved

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account books A first play-through was arranged in the performance The placing of the choir in front of
shortly before 9 June 1804 at the Lobkovitz Palace, the orchestra was typical Viennese practice at this
just after the work's completion, with an ensemble of period. A similar layout on a smaller scale is shown in a
about 26 players, including 6 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos plan of the arrangement at the Concerts Spirituels. It
and 2 basses When the symphony was again performed was also the scheme adopted for the 1824 perfor-
at Prince Lobkovitz's on 23 January 1805, a few weeks mances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In the first
after the von Wurth performance, there were 12 few years of its existence the Gesellschaft der Musik-
violins, 3 violas, 4 cellos, 2 basses, timpani and the freunde gave similarly large-scale performances of
usual wind, making some 35 players in all.31 Handel's Samson (1814) and Messiah (1815), and Abbe
Stadler's Die Befreyung von Jerusalem (1816), but these
Toward the end of the first decade of the 19th
festival performances then went into abeyance until
century the general trend in amateur concerts seems to
the 1830s.
have been towards larger orchestras. The winter season
of 1807-8 saw a new series of concerts mounted as a More modest but nevertheless substantial forces
fully public venture. They were initially given in the were used for four concerts which Beethoven gave at
concert room at the Mehlgrub under the direction of the end of 1813 and the beginning of 1814 with an
an accomplished amateur violinist, von Herring, who orchestra of mixed professionals and amateurs. In
frequently gave concerts in his own house. After a addition to Wellingtons Sieg, which was included in all
short while they migrated to the larger and far more of them, the programmes included the premieres of
suitable University Hall. The directorship also changed the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies. Thayer refers to a
within the first year, with Clement replacing von memorandum of Beethoven noting the exact numbers
Herring At these concerts Beethoven 'conducted' the of the stringed instruments for one of these concerts
performance of several of his own works- the Conolan as follows- 'at my last concert in the large Redoutensaal
Overture and the 'Eroica' Symphony in December 1807 there were 18 first violins, 18 seconds, 14 violas, 12
and the Fourth Symphony in January 1808. The cellos, 7 basses, 2 double bassoons'.33 For these
orchestra (of which a detailed list survives) was concerts it seems certain that he used a double
substantial, containing 13 first violins, 12 second complement of wind instruments
violins, 7 violas, 6 cellos, 4 basses, timpani and a Doubled wind was not uncommon in large-scale
single complement of wind instruments, adding up to performances at this time According to the un-
around 55 performers. Of these 18 were professional published reminiscences of Johann Baptist Geissler,
and the rest amateur 32 archivist of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, the
The French occupation of Vienna and the generally Society's orchestra during its first decade of regular
unpropitious circumstances of those years prevented orchestral concerts (from 1815) always contained 20
these concerts from being set on a permanent footing first violins, 20 seconds, 12 violas, 10 cellos, 8 basses,
at that time, but the movement continued to gather with doubled wind when required.34 The supposition
momentum and on 29 November 1812 the event which that they used doubled wind in the performance of

10 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

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5 Layout of choir and orchestra for a performance of Handel's Alexander s Feast in Mozart's orchestration. Reitschiile. 1812

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988 1 :

 Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Princeton University on March 24, 2012
6 A copperplate engraving of the layout of the choir and orchestra of the Concert Spirituel in about 1825 This shows the Violindirektor (Vil.
D) at the right-hand end of the first row of violins The timpani are next to the trumpets, partly obscured by the shadow of the organ

Beethoven's orchestral music at that time is supported 1825, however, shows a choir of 80 and an orchestra of
by a set of parts of the Fourth Symphony in the 58, with a string section of 10-10-10-6-4, timpani, a
archives of the Gesellschaft, in which Beethoven single complement of wind including 4 horns and 3
himself has marked the wind parts 'solo' and 'tutti', trombones (illus.6).
indicating which passages should be played by a There were other short-lived and occasional amateur
single player and which should be doubled. Works by concert ventures, such as the society known as the
Beethoven included in the 1816 and 1817 seasons of 'Reunion' which met in a room at the hotel 'zum
the Gesellschaft concerts were the Egmont Overture Romischen Kaiser' in 1812-13, where Beethoven
and the Second and Seventh Symphonies; the Fourth directed his oratorio Christus am Olberge in March 1813.
Symphony was first performed by them in 1821. In addition, Beethoven was associated, either in person
A somewhat smaller orchestra took part in the or through his works, with numerous charity concerts,
performances of orchestral and choral music which mostly given by mixed amateur and professional
were given at the Concerts Spirituels (founded in orchestras. In November 1808 he directed an un-
1819). According to Hanslick the chorus and orchestra specified symphony, overture and piano concerto at a
of these concerts (including 10-12 professional wind concert of the offenthchen Wohlthatigkeits-Anstalten;
players) numbered about 100." Geissler confirms this, in May 1814, for the Theater-Armen. he directed the
saying that there was an orchestra of 48 and a choir of overture Egmont and Die Schlacht bei Vittoria; for a
53 36 The copperplate plan of the ensemble from about concert in aid of the Burgerspital in 1818 he directed

12 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

the Eighth Symphony; and in January 1819, for the Clearly some violinist directors were thought capable
widows of members of the Faculty of Law, his Seventh of the exemplary conduct alluded to at the end of this
Symphony. Schubert, too, was connected with the review, but the evidence suggests that it was not often
amateur orchestral movement, first at the Convict, encountered In 1808 J F. Reichardt noted with
with its orchestra containing 12 violins, 2 cellos and 2 disapproval that Schuppanzigh frequently conveyed
basses, for which his early symphonies were composed, the beat through the 'execrable manner of foot stamping
then with a small orchestra which grew from musical which is generally practised here',38 and that often he
gatherings at the house of the Vienna merchant, apparently stamped merely to strengthen a forte, even
Frischling, for which he composed his Fifth and Sixth in quartet performances This and other distracting
Symphonies, and finally with the much larger orchestra habits on the part of violin-conductors were common
of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, for whom his A review of a concert given in 1800 by the visiting
last symphony was intended but not performed horn-player, Punto, who performed the sonata written
Methods of direction for him by Beethoven, describes how in a 'Hunt
Symphony' by Mehul, 'Herr Punto himself conducted
Different methods of direction were practised for

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with the violin, but made himself laughable through
different types of music. Until about 1810, orchestral
that well-known old French charlatanism and face
works were normally directed by the principal violinist
pulling' 39 These practices persisted in Vienna well
(concertmaster); when voices were also included, a
into the second decade of the century, and continued
keyboard player usually participated in the direction,
even longer elsewhere In 1825, Mendelssohn reported
and in large-scale works involving chorus and orchestra
there was often a third director whose sole purpose a performance of Beethoven's Second Symphony in
was to beat time Pans where 'The tempi were altogether too fast, and
Habeneck, who conducted from the violin, and would
By the 1790s the presence of a keyboard instrument
have liked to hold them back, made himself quite
in purely orchestral music would already have been
miserable, stamping his feet, hitting the stand with his
exceptional in Vienna During the late 18th century
bow so hard that it wobbled, and moving his whole
Dittersdorf and Haydn directed their symphonies from
body, but none of it was of any avail'40
the violin (Haydn only presided at the piano for the
performance of his symphonies in London because Beethoven himself seems to have been one of the
that was the local practice), and at the beginning of the first musicians in Vienna to attempt to direct orchestral
19th century Clement directed his Ahademwn and concerts without an instrument His concern for the
Schuppanzigh the Augarten Concerts in the same proper interpretation of his own orchestral works
manner In 1800 a contemporary described made him anxious to supervise their performance He
Schuppanzigh's direction at the Augarten in the follow- was not primarily a violinist and seems never to have
ing terms: directed from the violin, nor is there evidence to
suggest that he, or anyone else in Vienna during the
Hen Schuppanzigh's greatest merit is his bold playing,
which thus also has an advantageous influence on his first decade of the 19th century, made a practice of
conducting But with all due acknowledgement of his merits directing orchestral music from the keyboard All
we cannot agree with the widespread view that he is a great surviving accounts of Beethoven's conducting suggest
director If that seem quibbling, we may only cite to that he directed from a separate music desk without a
connoisseurs that he is a very accomplished practical baton How early he adopted this practice can only be
musician but merely that, without any knowledge of theory conjectured There is nothing in the only review of his
and composition The most skilful and expert director, who Akademie in 1800, when the First Symphony was
lacks this knowledge, cannot, we believe, do more than play premiered, to prove that he conducted the orchestral
his own part correctly and well and if there is a fluctuation in
items in the programme In fact the review mentions
tempo or some other error in the orchestra, lay into his violin
and stamp his feet (usually in an offensive manner) There is quarrels about the direction, saying that Beethoven
much more to preventing such mistakes in the orchestra wanted Wranitzsky to direct but that the Italian Opera
through subtle measures, to holding the orchestra together orchestra would only play under their regular Vwltn-
unnoticed by the listeners (as people say) - through the direhtor, Conti Nevertheless, the possibility remains
correcting and bringing back together of the orchestra, that Beethoven did take part in the direction in some
likewise unnoticed by the listener, if such a mistake occurs- capacity, it is tempting to see a hint of his participation
in short, to everything which constitutes a great director 37 in the reviewer's remark that in the finale of the

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988 13

 symphony the orchestra 'were so casual that despite and Schuppanzigh as the principal violin'51 But even
all time-beating [alles Taktirens ungeachtet], no more before Beethoven had lost his hearing it is questionable
fire could be got out of them, particularly from the whether he possessed the necessary firmness and tact
wind instruments' 4I This could easily refer to Conti, to be an effective conductor.
but taking Beethoven's temperament into account it is In fact, Vienna during Beethoven's lifetime did not,
difficult to believe that in the circumstances he would it seems, produce any directors with the authority,
not have been time-beating personality and ability of a Spohr or a Weber, who
From the middle of the first decade of the century could impose their will and establish unchallenged
onwards there are many contemporary references to control over the performance Evidence suggests that
Beethoven conducting his own works At Clement's until at least 1810 Beethoven's attempts to direct
Akademie at the Theater an der Wien on 7 April 1805, purely orchestral concerts without an instrument were
for instance, where the 'Eroica' was performed, the exceptional, during the second decade of the century,
programme announced 'The composer kindly con- however, the practice became increasingly common,
sented to conduct the work'42 Ignaz Moscheles reported though there appears to have been considerable

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that during his time in Vienna (from 1809) he had resistance to it, particularly from violinists After
'never missed the delightful Concerts at the attending one of the concerts of the Gesellschaft der
Augarten where he conducted his own Symphonies'43 Musikfreunde on 7 January 1816 at which Beethoven's
And Reichardt has left an account of the Akademie in Second Symphony was performed, Michael Frey com-
the Theater an der Wien on 22 December 1808 where plained about a 'time beater who stood in the middle
Beethoven conducted a mammoth programme con- and pretty troublesomely wagged his beat from the
taining the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth beginning to the end of the symphony, but it would
Piano Concerto, the Choral Fantasia and some shorter have gone on just as well without him' 52 By the 1820s a
items, Reichardt described his seat as being in a box 'in separate time beater was normal for orchestral concerts
the first balcony near the stage, so that the orchestra in Vienna, though his control was by no means
with Beethoven in the middle conducting it was below complete or undisputed
us and near at hand' 44 Precisely what is meant by the Opera performances at the Viennese court theatres
term 'conducting' in these cases, however, is unclear during the early years of the century seem also to have
According to Ries, when he gave an early performance been frequently directed from the violin. It is probable
of the C minor Piano Concerto at the Augarten on 19 that the Italian custom obtained, whereby the com-
July 1804 'Beethoven himself conducted, but he only poser of an opera or the Kapellmeister presided over the
turned the pages' 45 And accounts of the 1808 first three performances at the keyboard and then left
Akademie by Ries and Rbckel suggest that even if it entirely in the hands of the Orchesterdirektor An
Beethoven beat time at the concert he did not directly account of the state of affairs at the German Opera in
supervise the rehearsal, having offended the orchestra 1800, comparing its orchestra with that of the Italian
of the Theater an der Wien so much that they refused Opera, stated'
to have him in the room with them 46 Later des-
criptions of Beethoven's conducting, by Spohr,47 Franz The orchestra possesses far fewer good players than that of
Wild,48 Atterbohm,49 Moscheles50 and others agree the Italian Opera, the payment is too poor Yet one often
closely in their general description of his method He hears symphonies by Haydn or, from time to time, an opera
does not seem to have given a continuous and regular by Mozart far better performed by it than by the other, which
is largely thanks to its worthy director Herr Paul Wranitzsky
beat, rather he was concerned with conveying the
Much worse performed are the overtures to comedies and
expression; his disappearances below the music desk the entracts, mostly antiquated symphonies, under the
for pianos and his leaps into the air at fortes are sluggish direction of Herr Reinhard 33
similarly described by several observers Unfortunately
Beethoven's deafness increasingly made control of the In the rest of his long review of the state of the opera
performance impossible and the real direction lay in companies, which criticizes them from numerous
other hands. Leopold von Sonnleithner recalled that at angles, the writer made no mention of any director of
the premiere of the Ninth Symphony on 7 May 1824 the performances besides the Orchesterdirektor,
'Beethoven himself stood at the head, the real direction Wranitzsky, and his deputy, the Kapellmeister Weigl
of the orchestra was in the care of Umlauf as time giver and Sahen are only referred to in connection with the
choice of operas, and even if a Kapellmeister was

14 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

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EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988 15

involved in the performance in some capacity he the dilemma of not being able to look to all sides at once,
seems not to have been credited with any share of which dilemma he sought in part to solve by directing his
responsibility either for its good or bad aspects. head to the stage and his violin and bow to either side 56
Another writer observed that Wranitzsky was less good By the middle of the 1810s, however, it was becoming
as a director in operas than in instrumental music, normal in Viennese theatres to have a Kapellmeister
since for operas he only attended the last three regularly directing the singers from a separate music
rehearsals with orchestra, not the preceding rehearsals desk or sometimes seated at the keyboard, though
with quartet accompaniment 54 This suggests that there is little to suggest that this was seen as any great
thought he did not assume overall responsibility for improvement over the former practice Michael Frey,
the musical direction of the German Opera, it was he who was hard to please where conductors were
who normally presided in the pit at the performances concerned, caustically described a production of
It is certainly the case that elsewhere in Germany Kauer's Die Chinestschen Lantemen at the Josephstadter
during the first two decades of the century operas were theatre on 31 December 1815.
directed entirely from the violin When Spohr assumed which was performed in such a manner that one

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the post of Kapellmeister at the Frankfurt opera house wondered how this sort of thing could exist in a city I found
in 1818 he began, at the request of the singers, by the whole thing very tedious and was glad when the filthy
directing from the violin in the manner of his pre- mess came to an end, Kauer directed his wretched incom-
decessor, Schmitt Only when, by dint of intensive petent piece, it would have been just as good, however, if he
rehearsal, he had accustomed the singers to learn their had not been there, he sat so solidly and phlegmatically at
parts so thoroughly that they no longer needed to rely the piano that one could have taken him for dead "
on the director's violin helping them when they lost Direction by a Kapellmeister seated at the piano was
their place, was he able to dispense with his violin and still in vogue at the Leopoldstadter theatre ten years
adopt the baton instead 55 later, when Sir George Smart noted in his journal that
There are numerous references to the violin direction the 'conductor sat at a queer toned long P F, beat time
of operas in Germany at this period. One from 1814, of without a roll' 58 At the Josephstadter, however, he
a 'recent' performance, gives a vivid picture of the remarked that for a performance of Weber's Der
problems involved The Viohndirektor is described as Freischutz 'the conductor beat time at a desk in the
taking his place in front of the prompter's box and, center [sic] even with the violins' 59 This was certainly
having rapped on it with his bow the method that had prevailed at the Karntnertor-
theater since the reorganization of the orchestra in
he put his violin under his chin and raised himself on tiptoe, 1821 Gassner's plan of the pit shows the Kapellmeister
together with his instrument so that he and it were pointed in the middle surrounded by cellos and basses, but the
up to the flies He laid the bow on the string near the heel, Orchesterdirektor, according to Strober's sketch, had a
turned his head once more to both sides, as far as the raised desk In the Theater an der Wien, however, it
difficulties of his position allowed him, and then drew his
seems from an illustration of about 1825 that a
bow as though he wanted to cut through all the strings,
dipping his whole body so suddenly with this down-bow that
conductor stood next to the stage with his back to the
his head came to rest under the music stand the bow lost orchestra. As late as 1825 direction by the principal
3 or 4 hairs But soon our director raised himself again and violinist was apparently still in operation for instru-
now bowed on vigorously in this manner so that his notes mental music in Viennese theatres, for Smart noted
could be distinguished from all the others by their rough- when he went to a play at the Burgtheater that for the
ness and volume All the while he beat time very audibly, incidental music there was 'no director of the
now with his bow, now with his foot, now with the head, and orchestra' 60 Within a few years of this, though,
now with all three together He gave cues to right and left for performances under the sole command of a Violin-
the individual instruments, made a peevish face when a direktor were seldom to be encountered except in
mistake occurred, or conveyed his approval by a friendly 'garden music' and balls, which were directed by such
nod of the head, in a word he was like one pursued by bees,
popular musicians as Joseph Lanner and Johann
in constant motion When the curtain went up his movements
were even more violent, and the fervour and exertion,
Strauss. However, even though by the end of Beet-
particularly in his facial muscles, reached an ever higher hoven's lifetime it was normal in Vienna to have a
pitch, and he now had to direct his attention towards three conductor both for concerts and for opera, he had yet
different points of the compass One often observed him in to establish full control over the proceedings In

16 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

Viennese opera houses during the 1820s, even where because of the distances involved, the orchestra
there was a Kapellmeister at the piano or beating time at would have been constrained to rely heavily on the
a separate music desk, so that the principal violinist guidance of the Vwlmdirektor or the Anfuhrersgehulfe
was not the sole director of the performance, he still But much remains unclear Would the Anfuhrer have
played a much more prominent role than the modern turned round to conduct the overture, or would he
leader Right through the 1820s he had an essential have left it to the Vwlmdirektor0 Would he, in fact, have
part in the direction of operas, so much so that the conducted the solos, or would he only have conducted
Orchesterdirektor was regarded as of equal importance, the choral numbers7 In other large-scale performances
at least as far as the orchestra's performance was of works such as Haydn's oratorios or Beethoven's
concerned Thus a review of Mozarts Don Giovanni at Ninth Symphony, where the composer had not intended
the Theater an der Wien in 1822 remarked a keyboard part, what sort of part would the Cembalist
The perfection of the orchestra has perhaps never shown have played7 (Conradin Kreutzer was at the piano in
itself in such a good light no note went astray to which the 1808 performance of Die Schopfung and at the first
the composer had given the slightest importance, and every performance of the Ninth) There were undoubtedly a

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significant performance direction was correctly observed variety of practices - for instance, Wagner recalled
For this so marvellous ensemble, as well as in general, the that in Leipzig in 1832, for a performance of the Ninth,
two chiefs, Messers von Seyfned and Clement, who directed a time-beater was only involved during the finale63 -
the whole with such zeal and true love of art, should be given and though the trend was inexorably toward the
unrestrained and special thanks for their care61 concentration of control in the hands of the conductor,
This concept of divided direction meant that in it was many years after Beethoven's death before this
performances of music for choir and orchestra there goal was achieved in Vienna
were often three directors, a Violindtrektor, who directed
the orchestra, a Klavierdirektor, who accompanied the Manner of performance
recitative in pieces with a continuo part, or otherwise Any attempt to identify the stylistic criteria that were
assisted the soloists and chorus, and a director whose applied specifically to orchestral playing in Vienna
principal responsibility was for the co-ordination of during this period is hampered by an acute scarcity of
the whole This was the common practice in concerts evidence. It is possible to ascertain with some degree
with large forces; at the oratorio concerts of the of accuracy such things as pitch (about A=435 in 1825)
Tonkunstler Societat and the Gesellschaft der Musik- and the technical specifications of wind and string
freunde, for instance. Three directors are clearly instruments, but an idea of how the orchestra actually
shown on the plan of the 1812 Gesellschaft perform- played remains highly speculative Even when positive
ance of Handel's Alexander's Feast Another person, statements about what should or should not be done
designated in the list at the bottom as (d) Der Partitur- are found, there are good grounds for thinking that
Nachleser und Anfuhrersgehulfe is not located on the there was often a wide gulf between theory and
plan, evidently through a printer's oversight, but is practice
probably to be identified with the 'sub-director', who One important question is whether or not orchestras
on another version of the plan was positioned level were expected to use any kind of tempo rubato In
with the fourth row of violins His function was general, without adequate rehearsal or efficient con-
presumably to relay the beat to those at the back who ducting, the orchestra as a whole could hardly have
could not clearly see the other directors Leopold von been expected to succeed in producing any subtle
Sonnleithner's recollection was that this was the variations in tempo The sort of flexible performance
earliest occasion in Vienna on which a baton had been described in Salien's Axur in 1790 could only have
used to direct.62 But quite how the responsibility of been achieved under very different conditions from
directing would have been distributed is another those that obtained for most of Beethoven's time in
matter. In this arrangement the Cembalist, as he is here Vienna However, there is evidence that, ideally,
designated, would have been the only one of the three Beethoven wanted rubato in his orchestral music
functionaries whom the solo singers could have seen, Ignaz von Seyfned recalled that when rehearsing his
he, however, could see the Anfuhrer (who almost orchestral works 'He was very particular about ex-
certainly faced towards the front) and could therefore pression, the delicate nuances, the equable distribution
act as a link between him and the soloists, while, of light and shade as well as an effective tempo rubato,

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988 17

and without betraying vexation, would discuss them Europe
with the individual players'64 The most common By 1811 it is clear that a number of Viennese string
concept of tempo rubato at this period allowed that a players were using portamento liberally, not only in
soloist could take more time on a note or phrase as their solo playing but also in the orchestra, for in that
long as he made it up elsewhere in the bar, while the year the Allgemeine musikahsche Zettung published a
accompaniment maintained a steady tempo. Theoreti- letter from Salien in which he attacked the habit,
cally, therefore, this could have been applied in saying
orchestral compositions to soloistic passages, particu- For some time an effeminate and laughable manner of
larly by such undoubtedly fine wind players as the playing their instruments has crept in with various weak solo
clarinettist, Friedlowsky, or the horn player, Herbst But violinists, which the Italians call the mamera smorfwsa,
whether or not Viennese orchestras at this time were stemming from an abuse of sliding the finger up and down
capable of realizing an effective tempo rubato, there the string This feeble and childish mannerism has, like an
can be little doubt that Beethoven envisaged it infectious disease, spread to some orchestral players and,
In general, orchestral players were expected to what is most ridiculous, not merely to our courageous

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violinists, but also to viohsts and even double-bass players
observe different criteria from soloists. All manner of
Because a tolerated evil always gets worse, such a mannerism,
improvized ornamentation, which for string players particularly in a full orchestra, must necessarily change a
included such things as vibrato and portamento, were harmonious body into a collection of whining children and
meant to be eschewed by orchestral musicians. It is miaowing cats 67
reasonable to assume that many of the rank and file
players did not practise these skills to a great extent in He then went on to advise the directors of the Imperial
any case, but the most distinguished soloists in Vienna Opera that any players who persisted in this habit
regularly played in orchestras and whether they really should be removed from the orchestra. However, since
left their soloistic practices behind when performing Sahen issued a public manifesto further protesting
their orchestral duties is questionable Certainly Italian against the use of portamento four years later it seems
likely that his remonstrations were in vain.
orchestras at this period were noted for the cacophony
that resulted at almost every cadence when the The authorities continued to insist for many years to
individual members of the orchestra all ornamented come that when playing in the orchestra all in-
65
their parts in different ways This does not seem to strumentalists should adopt quite a different style
have been the case in Vienna, but there were other from that which they used when playing solo In his
Viohnschule of 1832, Spohr directed that the orchestral
matters that did give rise to complaint.
violinist should
Portamento is a case in point. The technique had
certainly been practised by 18th-century string players, abstain from all superfluous appoggiaturas, turns, trills and
and Reichardt specifically prohibited its use by the like, as well as all contrived position work, sliding from
orchestral players in his treatise Ueber die Pflichten des one note to another, changing the finger upon a note, in
Ripien-Viohmsten (1776),66 towards the end of the short from everything appertaining to the embellishment of
solo playing, which would disturb the smoothness of
century and especially during the first decade of the
ensemble if transferred to orchestral playing 68
19th century, however, through the influence of the
French school of violinists, portamento became Gassner, twelve years later, made a similar point with
69
increasingly fashionable in Germany Spohr, whose respect to orchestral players in general
playing roused great enthusiasm in Vienna during his There is no doubt that the use of portamento in
period in the city (1812-1815), was its most notable orchestral playing during the first half of the 19th-
German exponent, but there is no doubt that it had century was strongly discouraged, the situation with
already become a feature of the playing of native regard to vibrato is less clear cut, but there are good
Viennese violinists before that time Even though reasons to suggest that it was similarly regarded as
there were distinct regional schools of playing through- inappropriate in the orchestra. Robert Bremner, in
out the 19th century it would be a mistake to think that 'Some Thoughts on Concert Music' (1777), had ex-
the members of these schools were in any way plicitly prohibited the employment of vibrato by
70
ignorant of what was developing elsewhere, a constant orchestral players, and it seems clear that Spohr, too,
stream of travelling virtuosi quickly spread a knowledge intended his strictures against 'everything pertaining
of the latest fashions in string playing throughout. to the embellishment of solo playing' to include

18 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988

vibrato, since earlier in the Vwhnschule vibrato is dealt the difficulty of ensuring even the uniform observance
with in the section on embellishments Even in the of up- and down-bows, a mixture of different bowing
context of solo playing, where vibrato was regarded as styles would have been the rule in all Viennese
a legitimate ornament, very sparing use was counselled orchestras The uniform bowings of the violinists in
by most 19th-century writers, and this aesthetic was the Conservatoire orchestra at Prague under Friednch
vigorously defended by Leopold Auer at late as 1921." Wilhelm Pixis were a matter of wonder to a reviewer in
A composer might occasionally require vibrato as an the Wiener allgememe musikahsche Zeitung in 1819 As
effect in an orchestral context, and in that case he Spohr observed in 1832
would have to request it specifically Thus on page 27 The most difficult task is to achieve complete unanimity
of the autograph of Carl Loewe's oratorio Die Festzeiten among the players in the division of bow-strokes In this
(1829), the cellos and violas hold three tied semibreves regard therefore much remains to be desired even in the best
with a crescendo-diminuendo against which, for both rehearsed orchestras But the difficulty lies mainly in the
instruments, Loewe has written the word 'vibrato'. The fact that 1) the marking of the bowing is usually even more
use of a basically non-vibrato style by orchestral slipshod and inadequate in orchestral parts than it is in
concerto and quartet music and that 2) the violinists in an

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players persisted long after portamento had been
orchestra are never products of one and the same school,
accepted as a feature of orchestral performance, as
and thus all possess different styles of bowing and con-
can be heard in early recordings; this is probably the sequently different bowing habits [Spohr's footnote] The
reason for Elgar's request for vibrato in the larghetto of only exception to this is found in the orchestras of the
his Second Symphony (rehearsal number 86) n Conservatoires (in Paris, Prague, Naples), which is why such
Bows and bowing are crucial factors in determining admirable results are achieved there in the ensemble of the
performance style, and in this area Beethoven's lifetime violinists 75
coincided with a period of transition Here, as in the
However, one thing seems certain—bounced bowings
case of portamento, the influence of the French
would not have been seen in orchestral playing; these
school was important It seems highly likely that the
were rarely employed at this period and only then by
improved Tourte model bow was widely adopted much
virtuosos. The normal method of bowing detached
faster than has often been suggested, and with it
notes would have been with a more or less short bow
Viotti's characteristic approach to bowing, which
(depending on which school a violinist belonged to) in
stressed variety of slurring, long bow-strokes and
the middle or upper half76
powerful tone Clearly, not all the leading Viennese
Any notion of a distinctive Viennese style of orches-
violinists took up the newer approach Franz Clement
tral playing during Beethoven's residence in the city is
is a case in point, a review of his playing by the
clearly misconceived Viennese orchestras at that time
Viennese correspondent of the Allgememe musikahsche
were heterogenous collections of individuals (and
Zeitung in 1805 observed
individualists), some highly accomplished musicians
his is not the pithy, bold, forceful playing, the gripping, and others barely competent Lacking adequate
penetrating adagio, the power of bow and tone which rehearsal, efficient direction or the benefits of a
characterises the Rode and Viotti school rather an in-
conservatoire that could produce players with a
describable neatness and elegance, an extremely charming
tenderness and clarity of performance 73 common style, as in Paris and Naples, matters were to
show little improvement until after Beethoven's death.
A review of Schuppanzigh's performance of a Viotti Only then did the beneficial effects of the Conservatoire
concerto the previous year criticized his deficiency of instituted by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in
tone, but gives the impression that his style was closer 1819 and the evolution of conducting begin to make
to the Viotti ideal than was Clement's 74 themselves felt
Undoubtedly, a great variety of bow types and
bowing styles co-existed in Vienna at that time What Clive Brown is a member of the Faculty of Music at Oxford
happened in orchestras can only be conjectured How University His publications include a critical biography of
would the playing of the Theater an der Wien orchestra Spohr. and he is currently engaged in research into 19th-
have been affected when Spohr, with his Viotti style century performing practice
bowing, took over from Clement as Orchesterdirektor in
'A Schindler. Btographie von Ludwig van Beethoven (Munster.
18139 It is hard not to conclude that, given the I860), Eng trans D W MacArdle as Beethoven as Iknew him (London
notorious under-rehearsal of Viennese orchestras and 1966), p 142

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988 19

 2
Allgemeine musikaltsche Zettung [AMZ], in (1800/1801), p42 "AMZ, 111(1800/1801). p45
3
J F Reichardt, Vertraute Bnefe (Amsterdam, 1810), ed G Gugitz "AMZ. Ill (1800/1801), p624
(Munich 1915) n, pp 132-3 "F Gothel, ed , op at. n. p48
"Beethoven. Performers and Critics' International Beethoven "AMZ. xvi (1814). pp 392-3
Congress. Detroit. 1977 (Detroit, 1980), p 78 "BeJb (1965-68), p 161
'AMZ. Ill (1800/1801), pp65, 67 "Smart papers IV. p 32
6
J Schmidt-Gorg, 'Das Wiener Tagebuch des Mannheimer "Ibid
Hofkapellmeisters Michael Freg', Beethoven Jahrbuch /BeJb/. '"Smart papers iv. p 36
1965/68, p 153 "AMZ, xxiv (1822), p461
'Reichardt, op at. l, p 295 "Hanslick, op at. p 94
63
'AMZ. v (1802/3), pp 29-30 M Gregor-Dellin, ed. Richard Wagner Mem Leben (Munchen,
'Anon , Reise nach Wien (Hof, Gottfried Adolf Grau, 1795), p 253 1963), p72
'"Ibid, p 256 "Thayer, op at, p 371
"AMZ xxiv (1822), pp 252-3 "For accounts of this practice see F Gothel, ed, Spohr
"AMZ. xxiv (1822), p 268 Lebensennnemngen (Tutzing, 1968), I. pp 296-7. and Mendelssohn,
"AMZ. Ill (1800/1801), p45 Bnefe einer Reise durch Deutschland, Italien und die Schwei2 (Zurich,
"AMZ. in (1800/1801), p42 1958), pp96-7 and 150
"AMZ. Ill (1800/1801), p45 " J F Reichardt, [/eberdiePflichtendesRipien-Violinisten{KerUnan<i
"•AMZ. xxvm (1826), p 561 Leipzig, 1776), p35

Downloaded from http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ at Princeton University on March 24, 2012

67
"N Medici di Mangnano and R Hughes, A Mozart Pilgrimage AMZ, xin (1811). p 207
Betng the Travel Dianes of Vincent and Mary Novello m the Year 1829 "L Spohr, Violinschule (Vienna, 1832)
69
(London, 1955/^1975) pp 270-1 F S Gassner, Dingent und Ripienist (Karlsruhe. 1844) pp 52-53
lt 70
AMZ, XXIV (1822), p 320 R Bremner, 'Some Thoughts on Concert Music' in J G C
"N Medici di Mangnano and R. Hughes, op at. p 314 Schetky, Six Quartettos op VI (London, 1777)
20 71
Koechel. L von. Die kaiserltche Hof-Mustkkapelle in Wien (Wien, L Auer. Violin playing as I teach it (London. 1921). p 22ff
1869/fll976), p91ff "For further examination of vibrato, see C Brown, 'Bowing styles,
21
Smart Papers (in GB-Lbm Department of Manuscripts Add vibrato and portamento in nineteenth-century violin playing', to be
41774) IV, p39 published in JRMA. cxm
11
"[Holmes, E ], A ramble among the musicians of Germany (London, AMZ, vn (1805), p500
1829). p 161 "AMZ, vu (1804), p42
75
"'Beethoven, performers and critics', p 88 L Spohr, Violinschule. p 247
2 7
'AMZ. ill (1800/1801), p46 'For further details on 19th-century violin playing in general, see
"'Beethoven, performers and critics', p 90 C Brown, JRMA cxm
26
W A Bauer, O E Deutsch and J H Eibl, eds, Bnefe und
Aufzeichnungen (Kassel, 1963) in, p 209
21
AMZ. 1 (1798/1799), p 543
n
AMZ. ill (1800/1801), p47 IT 'll'T'n'T'll'T 'llTWll'f WIMTi'lPf 'Iff/If«" '11'T.WI!'*
"AMZ. vi (1804), p467
301
Beethoven, performers and critics', p 88
31
R Bnnkmann, 'Kleine "Eroica"-Lese\ Oesterreichische Mustk-
zeitschnft (Dec 1984), pp 634-38
"'Beethoven, performers and critics', p 88
33
A W Thayer, Ludwig van Beethoven's Leben, rev E Forbes as
Thayers Life of Beethoven (Princeton, 1964) l, p 576
34
'Beethoven. performers and critics', p 90
35

pl87
E Hanshck. Geschichte des Concenv/esens m Wien (Wien, 1869), MALCOLM BILSON
"'Beethoven, performers and critics', p 90 Fortepiano Workshop
"AMZ, 111 (1800/1801), p47
38
Reichardt, op at. I. p 164 July 4-15, 1988
39
AMZ, 111 (1800/1801). p49
"Mendelssohn, F A life in letters R Elvers, ed , trans C Thomlinson presented by the Center for Eighteenth Century Music
(New York. 1986) p 36-7
"AMZ. ill (1800/1801), p49 of Cornell University
"Thayer. op at. p 375
"Moscheles I (ed ) Life of Beethoven (London. 1841). l, xi Those interested in attending should write to Prof.
"Reichardt, op at. l. p 205 Bilson at the address below before April 1, 1988. A
"Thayer. op at. p 355 maximum of 12 qualified applicants will be chosen as
"Thayer. op at. p 447 active participants; decision will be made by May 1,
47
F Gothel, ed. L Spohr Lebensennnemngen (Tutzing, 1968) I. 1988.
pp 179-180 Department of Music
"Thayer, op at. n, p 570 Lincoln Hall
"Hanshck. op at. p 275 Cornell University
!0
C Moscheles, ed , Aus Moscheles' Leben (Leipzig, 1872), Eng Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
trans as Life of Moscheles (London, 1873), n. p 140
"AMZ neue folge. n (1864). p 245f
"BeJb (1965-68). p 164

20 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1988