Beethoven’s 1808 Academy Concert

On Sunday 2 October at City Halls, Beethoven’s marathon 1808 ‘Academy’ concert will be re-staged by the BBC SSO under Chief Conductor Thomas Dausgaard. This legendary event introduced the world to several of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces, but was considered a disaster at the time. What went wrong? Writer, BBC Radio 3 broadcaster and presenter Stephen Johnson explains…

‘Ah, but man’s reach should exceed his grasp’, wrote the poet Robert Browning, ‘Or what’s a heaven for?’ No one lived that maxim more energetically than Ludwig van Beethoven. In work after work he strives heavenwards; and sometimes, somehow, he actually gets there. But in matters of this world, a little practical realism can be a blessing too. There was nothing wrong with Beethoven’s notion of staging a concert of his latest and best compositions in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The hall was just seven years old; it was capacious, with a fine acoustic: one newspaper called it ‘the most comfortable and satisfactory in the whole of the German-speaking world’. Beethoven had premiered several major works in the Theatre, and had even lodged there during 1803-4. He knew it well - the location virtually chose itself.

The trouble was, competition for use of the Theatre was intense. The only windows for concerts were during Advent and Lent, and the latter was too soon. Beethoven had a hard job negotiating with the theatre management, and eventually had to settle for 22 December. Winter in Vienna can be very cold, and this night was, according to one commentator, ‘most bitter’. To cap it all, it seems no one had thought to do anything about heating. A member of the audience noted that the soprano in Beethoven’s concert aria Ah! perfido, Josephine Killitschgy, ‘rather shivered than sang’. But that may have been partly nerves: the very young Josephine was a last minute substitute, and Ah! perfido is difficult enough even when you know it - especially when the temperature isn’t sub-arctic.

As for the programme itself, it would have been testing enough for performers and audience even with modern central heating. A conservative calculation times it at about four hours, with one interval, and there wasn’t a great deal of light relief. In addition to Ah! perfido there were two new Symphonies, No.s 5 and 6 ‘The Pastoral’, a new Piano Concerto (No.4), the ‘Gloria’ and ‘Sanctus’ from the Mass in C, a substantial solo improvisation by Beethoven for solo piano (Beethoven was a legendary improviser), and then, as a finale, a specially composed Choral Fantasy, bringing together all (or nearly all) the evening’s performers.

A member of the audience noted that the soprano in Beethoven’s concert aria Ah! perfido ‘rather shivered than sang’

It might have gone better if Beethoven had had anywhere near enough time for rehearsal. Given that singers and players barely had time to look at this complex, challenging new works, it’s unlikely that much of the music-making was even skin-of-the teeth adequate. Beethoven’s playing in the Fourth Concerto was apparently movingly eloquent - even though by this stage he could hardly hear what he was doing. But it was only in the final Choral Fantasy that things came to grief completely. Misunderstanding about repeat markings led to total breakdown, whereupon Beethoven barked out the command to start the Fantasy all over again. For the composer and writer J.F.Reichardt the whole thing was proof ‘that one may have too much of a good thing, still more of a powerful one.’

But imagine, if the hall had been warm, the orchestra and singers top-quality and well-prepared, the conductor and soloist not struggling to hear the results, the ink on the musical parts not still ‘wet’, as another witness reported - imagine, in fact, conditions which (fingers crossed) should prevail in Glasgow’s City Halls this October. Well then, it’s just possible Beethoven, and his audience, might grasp Heaven once again.

Stephen Johnson