Noble Blood - Beethoven's Immortal Beloved, Part 1

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

After Beethoven died, his secretary published an effusively romantic letter the composer had written to someone identified only as his "Immortal Beloved." Beethoven had a type -- namely: noble, and unavailable. But the true identity of the letter's intended recepient has mystified music historians. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, The cat just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. In the morning, my angel, my all, myself. Only a few words today and indeed with pencil, with yours. Only tomorrow is my lodging positively fixed. What a worthless waste of time on such. Why this deep grief when necessity speaks. Can our love exist but by sacrifices, by not demanding everything? Can you change it that you not completely mine? I am not completely yours. Oh God, look upon beautiful nature and calm your soul over what must be. Love demands everything and completely with good reason. So it is for me with you, for you with me. This is a translation of the opening of one of the most famous love letters ever written,

which was composed by arguably the most influential romantic composer who ever lived. You might have heard of him. Ludwig van Beethoven. Ten small pages hold the trove of passionate and conflicted feelings that he scribbled one summer in Old German script, with, as he noted, the very pencil he borrowed from the intended recipient of his letter. That recipient is addressed later in his emotive outpouring

only as his, quote, immortal beloved. Beethoven wrote his message to his immortal beloved in three parts over two days, and there seems to be no proof that it was ever actually received. The multi-part letter was discovered at Beethoven's estate in Vienna after his death in 1827, and over the course of nearly 200 years,

it has become one of the most hotly contested documents in all of Western music historiography. This is largely thanks to the sheer number of enticing mysteries that the letter presents. First among them, who was the immortal beloved? Beethoven did not actually ever use his intended recipient's name. Beethoven was never married,

and by all accounts he had a fairly disastrous love life. Nevertheless, there is ample evidence that he became enamored with several countesses and women of high social status throughout his adulthood. And by analyzing clues in his personal writing and the correspondence of others, scholars have put forth multiple compelling candidates as to who might have inspired

such an ardent first draft of amorous feelings. But maybe Beethoven's music holds the answer. You've been listening to Beethoven's piano sonata number 30 in E major, Opus 1.5.1. Multiple musicologists and biographers claim that this piece, through both its composition and dedication, not only highlights a link between the composer's personal life and his creative work, but might hold the clues as to the true identity of Beethoven's immortal beloved. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is a very special musical installment of

noble blood. The immortal beloved letter did not initially seem like an enticing mystery. The letter was first published in 1840 after the composer's death by Beethoven's former secretary who claimed that Beethoven wrote it in 1806 to Australian countess Julieta Giciardi, a former piano student of his, while he was taking the waters at a Hungarian spa, quote, on account. of his gradually increasing deafness. Besides the part about Beethoven suffering from hearing loss and being at a spa, almost none of those other details would prove to be accurate.

The likeliest spa Beethoven was recuperating at wasn't even a Hungarian one. Beethoven had neither dated his letter nor specified his location at the time of writing. As later revised statements revealed, it seemed probable that Beethoven secretary had simply guessed at and inserted the date and made other assumptions. Researchers later pointed out that by 1806, Julietta was married and living in Naples.

As we'll soon discover, a woman being married might not have been a total deterrent in terms of Beethoven expressing heartfelt sentiments. However, Naples was simply too far from any of the spas that he did visit in the summers for her to be a plausible candidate. it. But Julietta, that former noble piano student, is still an important figure in Beethoven's history. She is the dedicatee of the song we're hearing now, Beethoven's wildly famous piano sonata number 14 in C-sharp minor, Opus 27 number two, that was originally titled Quasi Una Fantasia. Now it's more popularly known as his Moonlight Sonata. The next widely proposed immortal beloved candidate was actually Julieta's cousin.

Countess Therese von Brunswick was from a noble Hungarian family, and she was also a piano student of Beethoven's. The fact that Therese and her siblings had grown extremely close with their renowned teacher was well established. The key question was whether there was any romantic connection between Beethoven and Therese, that could have reached such a fever pitch. Some of the details present some compelling arguments, like Beethoven Terez never married. Interestingly, Beethoven kept a favorite portrait of Terez at his estate until he died.

And then, astonishingly, in 1890, a published account detailed a secret betrothal between the two in 1806. Case closed? Well, no. That specific account proved to be a forgery. Eventually, many of Choraz's letters and diary entries were found, and they did reveal several supposed affairs. But regarding Beethoven, although she wrote about him on several occasions with deep, friendly affection,

there was no evidence to claim a strong romantic attraction from either side. Nevertheless, Beethoven apparently kept in touch with Cherez over the course of multiple decades, and he dedicated the piece we're listening to Now to her, his piano sonata in F-sharp major, Opus 78, composed in 1809. Biographers subsequently proposed more countesses and socialites as immortal-beloved possibilities. In the 20th century, a few tidbits of speculations. even trickled out that the intended recipient could have been a man. There is perhaps no way to incontrovertibly rule that out, but virtually all the most thorough research on Beethoven's life, patterns and relationships at the time point to the addressee of the letter being a noble or

high-status woman. The key relationships in question often originated in teacher-student and or artist patron dynamics that then purportedly sparked feelings in Beethoven that grew stronger. But rather than just focus on his known social circles, some scholars have focused on the letter itself trying to find more clues to discover who its recipient might have been. One especially critical clue was that Beethoven starts the second part of his letter, quote, evening Monday, July 6th. By looking back at years when July 6th fell on a Monday and cross-checking travel documents and other correspondence, the situation comes into better focus. It's now widely accepted that Beethoven wrote to his immortal beloved in 1812, while in the spa town of a

of teplets in the Austrian Empire. Beethoven also references his intention to send his letter by post to K, which historians generally believe he was using as an abbreviation of Carlsbad, another resort town. These details give a more precise sense of Beethoven's whereabouts,

as well as his artistic status and internal struggles at the time. To start with some broader personal and career context, 1812 was at the end of what musicologists later deemed Beethoven's middle or heroic period, in which his compositions often tended toward a grand style and innovated upon classical forms. Right now, we're listening to the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F major, Opus 93, which he began working on in the summer of 1812. Although it didn't receive glowing acclaim at its premiere, critics, audiences, and other composers

have since extolled the beautiful witty and masterful manner in which it both recalled the works of composers like Mozart and Hayden and started to shake up certain norms of symphonic structure. By 1812, Beethoven had also already dealt with a myriad of personal obstacles. Early on, his home life was reportedly dismal, due to his parents' contentious marriage and his father's alcoholism. According to accounts from friends, Beethoven's amorous advances as a young man never seemed to come to any sort of satisfying fruition. And then there was the gradual, life-altering loss of his hearing.

This auditory decline likely started in 1719. or 98, and increasingly threatened his ability to conduct performances of his works. Given that Beethoven also suffered through the excruciating ringing of tinnitus in his ears, as well as other painful and isolating health problems, doctors often recommended that he spend summers in resort towns with supposedly healing hot springs. A closer look at Beethoven's correspondence and some supporting travel documentation allowed researchers to deduce his travel itinerary through the Austrian spa region prior to his writing of the immortal beloved letter. The specifics almost sound plucked from an Agatha Christie novel. Traveling from Vienna, Beethoven arrived in Prague on July 1, 1812, based on.

On a letter he sent to a friend there and implications in his immortal beloved letter, he very likely met his beloved for a potentially romantic trist in the city on July 3rd. He possibly likely borrowed a pencil. Then on July 4th, he departed by post-coach and after an arduous journey arrived at 4 a.m. on July 5th in Tepplets. The following morning, he began or... writing to his immortal beloved from his temporary lodgings, thinking that she would soon arrive in the town of Carlsbad, where he would send his letters. Using these parameters, a pair of prominent French scholars and a Japanese author, separately came to the same conclusion

about a new possible candidate. Then, in 1972, an American musicologist furthered those claims through an extensive investigation of the evidence that included a couple more prerequisites. One, the woman must have been in both Prague and Carlsbad at the right times. And two, the woman must have been on great terms with Beethoven just before the relevant spa visits to have elicited such impassioned writing. Ultimately, this narrowed down the list of immortal beloved candidates and left one plausible name. Antony Brentano was an Austrian art collector and music patron. Sources clearly show she was in Prague on July 3rd and had grown close to Beethoven in the preceding months. Antony had initially come to Vienna in 1809 to care for her ailing father,

and after he died, she oversaw the auction of his estate. In 1810, the connections of Antonie's husband and her husband's half-sister to the, quote, in-crowd of famous artists working in Vienna, led the three to meet Beethoven and befriend him. According to numerous accounts, including Antony's and those close to her, Beethoven became a source of great comfort during periods when Antony was mourning or ill. Additionally, as several scholars have argued, Antony fulfilled an additional parameter. Later in his life, Beethoven spent ample time with the prominent Giantastio del Rio family. In a recovered diary that many historiographers take to be trustworthy, a young woman in the family, Fanny, recorded a conversation in 1816 in which Beethoven Beautiful. discussed his fraught love life. According to Franny's entry, Beethoven lamented that five years prior

he had met someone, quote, a closer union with whom he would have considered as the greatest happiness of his life. But, quote, it was not to be thought of, almost an impossibility, a chimera. The approximate timing lined up with when Beethoven met Antony, and the impossibility was presumably that, as you probably have noted, she was married. Not only was Antony married, Beethoven considered her husband, the successful merchant Franz Bentano, a dear friend. Franz was apparently grateful for the time Beethoven spent uplifting his wife's spirit, with his music, and as records show, at times he even helped Beethoven financially.

Many sources also indicate that after Beethoven's stay in Teppelitz, he went on to meet up with the whole Brantano family to vacation with them in the resort towns of Carlsbad and Frenzenbad. As many scholars contend, this brings up critical questions regarding Antoni's Canaan. as the addressee of the immortal beloved letter. How intimate was Beethoven's relationship with her? If it did veer into some form of a romantic affair, how can that be reconciled with his position as a family friend? Beethoven often wrote of the importance of being virtuous and faithful.

So was he being dishonest and duplicitous in his actions? How much salacious stuff? was going down in those Austrian hot springs. While some writers have gone so far as to claim that Beethoven was the father of the son that Antony had in March of 1813, there seems to be a lack of substantial evidence to back that up. Critics of the Antony theory argued that she was a committed wife and mother, and it was highly unlikely that she would have entertained such a risky secretive affair. Beethoven did ultimately dedicate multiple works to Antony,

including what we're currently listening to. 33 variations on a waltz by Diabelli Opus 120, often known now as the Diabelli variations. But there's also substantial doubt in the scholarly community over whether Beethoven was passionately attracted to Antony in the same way he reportedly was with other women. This brings up another important quandary, however, momentarily putting aside candidates and related character assumptions and going back to the immortal beloved letter itself. It's worth questioning whether it was, first and foremost, a love letter at all.

be sure, Beethoven's multi-partmissive is full of passionate prose. He longs for his immortal beloved and repeatedly declares his undying love and devotion to her as her, quote, faithful Ludwig. But he also mentions travel issues, postal schedules, his place in the universe, his need to live for himself, and even does some light questioning of God. His shifting tone and focus, thus makes it inherently possible to interpret the letter in multiple ways. Complicating matters further, the Immortal Beloved letter itself has been published in varying formats and has been translated into several different English versions. Tracking the slight but meaning-altering differences makes it tempting to wonder how

cogent some of our own cryptic email drafts, unsent text messages, or pained diary entries might seem, if repeatedly examined and re-translated over two centuries. Furthermore, as if analyzing a scribbled stream of consciousness drafted on little sleep, that was possibly never sent nor received, was not already a subjective enough task. Many biographers and musicologists largely drew from different pools of scholarly research. some of the most significant books and monographs on the subject were either not translated into English or not circulated in English-speaking countries for decades, if at all.

The theory that Antony Brentano was the Immortal Beloved still appears to be the most widely accepted one in the United States, but that's seemingly not the case in Europe, as we'll soon get to. dissertations could be written on all the cultural and political factors, as well as the gatekeeping that spawned so many divisive theories about immortal beloved candidates over the years. But at the core of it, what is so fascinating about the letter is not simply what Beethoven was potentially trying to say to his immortal beloved, but what the letter says about Beethoven. Beethoven wrote to his immortal beloved when he was 41 years old,

and then struggled through a period of depression and diminished productivity for about five years. Between his anguished words and forced transposition of his larger life goals, many scholars have argued that it was far more than a love letter. This letter was a last stab at an issue. intimate relationship, as well as something of a tragic realization, a painful renunciation of what he couldn't have, or perhaps what he knew he would never have. Beethoven frequently felt the sting of rejection in his life. He was reportedly rebuffed many times due to his social class, his physical appearance, and or his difficult personality. But,

whether intentionally or subconsciously, perhaps as a means of self-preservation or instinctual drive to focus on his work, Beethoven also followed certain patterns that seemingly inhibited him from entering a more traditional marriage, a long-lasting affair, or fulfilling sexual relationship at all. Simply put, Beethoven had a type. He frequently pursued women who were were, by most accounts, beautiful, appreciated music, and in many cases took lessons from him, were often younger, and were almost always unobtainable due to their social standing or marital status. Did these women's positions in committed relationships somehow make them more romantically alluring to Beethoven? Or does that facet reveal another compelling pattern in his

life. According to many sources, after Beethoven's parents died by the time he was a young adult, he continually sought to integrate himself into prominent families. Here again, Beethoven's music, biography, and writing converge. Remember the sonata we heard back in the introduction? The Dedicadee was not one of the main proposed immortal beloved candidates, but the daughter of one. In a In addition to his affectionate bonds with Antony and Franz, Brentano, Beethoven was reportedly very fond of their children, particularly young Maximil Lane, to whom he dedicated two pieces. One was what we've been listening to, his Allegretto in B-flat major for piano trio. He composed this for her in June 1812 when she was 10 years old just before his summer spa trip.

The other was that piano sonata number 30. The sincere dedication that Beethoven wrote to Max Malayne by then 19 is fascinating, because it conveys a great deal about how he apparently viewed some compositions, along with the close relationships in his life. Let's listen to the first two movements again, along with a translation of Beethoven's dedication to Maxx's. to Max Maling. A dedication. Now it is not one of those dedications that are misused by a great many.

It is the spirit that unites the noble and better people on this earth, and which time can never destroy. That is the spirit of which I speak to you now, and which makes me see you still in your childhood years. Likewise, your beloved parents, your excellent and gifted mother, your father inspired by truthful good and noble qualities, always thinking about the well-being of his children. When I think on the excellent qualities of your parents, I have not the slightest doubt that you will have been and are daily inspired to be a noble imitation of them. Never can the memory of such a noble family fade in me. May you sometimes remember me fondly. My heartfelt wishes, May heaven bless you, your life, and the lives of those around you forever,

affectionately and always your friend, Beethoven. As some writers have suggested, it's possible that dedications like that were veiled ways for Beethoven to express romantic feelings to married women or mothers of dedicatees. But as others assert, this type of behavior and later in life dedication, far more likely underscored a deeper longing for a loving and stable family structure, as Beethoven so often sought out substitute families. So in addition to signaling a crestfallen emotional key change,

the immortal beloved letter was perhaps a love letter that actually weighed multiple types of love, from romantic to familial to self-love, and according to some, maybe even rekindled love. Many of Beethoven's behavioral patterns, as well as clues and documents that were revealed more recently, factor into the case for the other most widely believed immortal beloved candidate. That candidate was from a noble family, was supposedly exceedingly beautiful, and was incredibly musically talented. According to that theory, which has been long-backed by certain German and German-speaking scholars, it was not Therese von Brunswick who made the most sense as Beethoven's immortal beloved, but her younger sister Josephine, because deep down she was,

was his only beloved. But more on that next week. This has been part one of the endlessly fascinating story of Beethoven's famous immortal beloved. But stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear a few measures of another music-related mystery. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wode. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever.

I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come, look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah.

He goes, but there's so much luck involved. and he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be.

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and The Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come, Look for up and coming talent.

He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be...

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Baroness Therese Malfati was another candidate who historians more or less ruled out as the enigmatic immortal beloved. Beethoven did supposedly propose to her in 1810, though, and she factors into another mystery. According to many sources, Beethoven's exceedingly well-known for Elise Bagatelle, which we are, of course, hearing now, was likely written for her between 1808 and 1810. The piece was only discovered and published 40 years after Beethoven's death. And while multiple Elise candidates have been proposed,

one of the main theories about the dedication was that it was initially misread and had actually been written for Therese. As many scholars note, Beethoven had notoriously sloppy handwriting, which is yet another reason why the mission to identify the intended recipients of some of his works of both romantic music

and affectionate prose continues to be so immortally befuddling. This episode was written by Paul Jaffe. Special thanks to Dr. Jane Vial Jaffe and Dr. William Meredith, who were both incredibly helpful resources in the writing of this episode. One final note for this episode,

our producers for the show found most of the Beethoven music we got to listen to for this special musical two-parter from museopen.org, a free website and nonprofit that provides access to classical music recordings and sheet music and other educational material. If you're interested in hearing more Beethoven, absolutely go check the site out. Noble Blood is a production of IHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Amy Height, and Julia Milani. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk with supervising producer Rima Il Kali,

and executive producers Aaron Manky, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit.

If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to thanks dad on the IHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.