Beethoven and His Jewish Contemporaries

Abstract

Scholars have drawn attention to the significance of Beethoven's circle in biographical and critical evaluation of his music and influence on music of the nineteenth century. The particular circumstances of the Jewish population in Europe during this important period, that of the Emancipation and Haskalah, with its changes of socio-political profile, add a significant perspective to a consideration of Beethoven's Jewish contemporaries, and his relationships with them highlight both the composer's own rapport with Judaism and their contribution to nineteenth-century culture. The article deals with close colleagues such as the pianist-composer Moscheles, poet Jeitteles, and publisher Schlesinger, all of whom were instrumental in the genesis and reception of many of Beethoven' s masterworks as well as the wider circle of Hiller, Heller, Meyerbeer, Thalberg, and Sir Julius Benedict, who came into contact with Beethoven and whose influence extended into the Romantic era. Beethoven's Jewish friends and patrons are also discussed as well as the possibility that his commission to compose for Vienna's Seitenstettengasse Synagogue inspired his greatest, last quartet in C sharp minor, op. 131.