Ignatz von Beecke  (1733-1803)

Gary Smith

                                   Composer and keyboard virtuoso.  Beecke was born in Wimpfen am Nekkar 28 October 1733 into a noble family, his father being warden of the Military College.  There appears to be no information at hand to show that he had any formal musical training, so it seems that he taught himself to play the harpsichord.  Some literature claims that Gluck was an early teacher of Beecke’s: while they were friends later in life, no definitive evidence has turned up to support such a claim.  In any case, he began composing in the late 1750’s, mostly with the court orchestra of Oettingen-Wallerstein in mind, as we shall see.

Beecke was not a career musician.  He can be more accurately described as a nobile dilettante in that he turned to performing/composing music as a satisfying pastime, not as a means of making a living.  He did very well at this, surpassing many a professional musician in his success and recognition.  Over the years he became friends with Haydn, Gluck and Mozart, dealt with the Chevalier de Saint-George and hired Rosetti, Reicha and Friedrich Witt for the court orchestra, among others.  By 1784, he was described by Christian Schobart as:

“…not only among the best harpsichordists, but also among the most outstanding and original composers.  His hand is small and brilliant; his recital is clear and round; his imagination is rich and dazzling; and – his greatest merit – his whole playing style is self-made.  He has formed a school in harpsichord playing known as the Beecke school.  The character of this school is:  peculiar fingering, short and somewhat affected forward movement of the fist, clear recital, playing wit in the passages and especially a magnificent pralltriller.  Beecke’s harpsichord pieces are also written in this style.

However, Mozart and those who admired his style of playing found Beecke’s playing shallow and undisciplined.  

Beecke entered the Bavarian Dragoon Regiment of Zollern in 1756, and as an officer was involved in several campaigns during the Seven Years War. Three years later he transferred to the Oettingen-Wallerstein contingent of the Württemberg Dragoons Regiment, soon becoming a captain with them.  When he retired in 1792, he held the rank of major.  As a member of the Württemberg Dragoons, he came to the attention of Count Philipp Karl von Oettingen-Wallerstein, who soon made Beecke the personal adjutant of his son Kraft Ernst, who later succeeded Philipp Karl as Count in 1773.  By the early 1790’s, Beecke was described in Gerber’s Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler (1790-92) as the “Royal Oettingen-Wallerstein Chamberlain” and also as a “Gentleman of the Hunt.”

However, it would seem that Beecke’s main skills for the Count were utilized for the musical establishment at the Oettingen-Wallerstein court.  Consisting of about 30 musicians, it was considered one of the best orchestras in the German states during that time.  Beecke took on the post of court music administrator.  He organized the music programs, hired (and fired) musicians, selected music for performance and general kept an eye out on what was going on musically at other courts and locations.  Due to the latter, he was thus able to convince the court that he should travel in order to more closely view other venues.

One such trip took Beecke to Paris in 1766.  While ostensibly there to further the interests of the Oettingen-Wallerstein court’s orchestra, it appears that he was more concerned with furthering the interests of his own compositions.  He quickly became admitted to a circle of influential people, dedicating some of his work to various members.  By this manner, he was able to obtain publishing privileges for his instrumental works, which brought him a good income.  Also, he met the Mozarts during this point in time, as the family was on their Great Tour at this point.

Beecke spent a good amount of time across various trips in Vienna as well, becoming good friends with Gluck.  There were many performances of his works in both Vienna and Paris; four singspiels were composed for the German National Theater in Vienna during the 1780’s, as well as his symphonies, which were performed by the Concert des amateurs in Paris. One opera, Roland, was composed for Paris in 1770, but was never performed, due to an intrigue against it in Paris between Louis XV’s mistress Mme du Barry and Marie-Antoinette.  Beecke credited Gluck and Hasse for how he approached composing Roland, and Gluck apparently thought enough of it to ask (several years after its cancelled performance) to borrow the manuscript. When Gluck died, Beecke composed a Musical Apotheosis of Sir Gluck for chorus and orchestra in d minor. 

Mozart next met Beecke when on his ill-fated Paris trip of 1777-78.  Writing from Mannheim in a letter to his father dated 13 November 1777, he writes about a trip to the court of Prince Kraft Ernst von Oettinggen-Wallerstein at Wallerstein in order to be introduced to the Prince and no doubt perform for a fee or gift. The pertinent section runs as follows:

Well, would Papa like to know how Beecke received me? Why, very favorably and most politely…. He then gave me a good deal of advice, remarking that he had just been [to Paris] himself. “You will make heaps of money by giving lessons, for in Paris they are very fond of the clavier.” He at once arranged for me to be taken to the officer's mess and took steps to secure me an audience with the Prince. He expressed great regret that he himself happened to have a sore throat…and that he could not therefore take me out himself and entertain me. He was sorry too that he could not arrange some music in my honor, but on that very day most of the performers had taken a holiday and gone out walking to some place or another. At his request I had to try his clavichord, which is a very good one. He frequently exclaimed, 'Bravo!' I improvised and played my sonatas in Bb and D. In short, he was very polite and I was the same, but perfectly serious.

All this appears very well and good.  Mozart apparently didn’t get much of a chance to obtain money, but he seriously tried to advance himself here. Or, so he says. Therefore, the famous letter of 11 February 1778, written by Leopold wherein he sharply points out a litany of flaws in Wolfgang's previous actions, and ends up in an enraged fury ordering Wolfgang and his mother off to Paris, contains this interesting section:

When you were at Wallerstein, you caused the company great amusement, you took up a violin and danced around and played, so that people described you to absent friends as a merry, high-spirited and brainless fellow, thus giving Herr Beecke the opportunity of disparaging your merits…

It turns out that Anton Janitsch and Joseph Reicha, members of the Wallerstein orchestra, had been there at that time and in traveling through Salzburg, had stopped in to pay their respects to Leopold. He had mentioned their visit in an earlier letter (26 January 1778), but not their conversations with him at that time.  This was an ill omen for Wolfgang, as his father was henceforth reluctant to fully believe information sent to him by his son during the rest of this trip.

Mozart met up with Beecke one last time in Frankfort in 1790, appearing together with him in a concert on 15 October 1790.  Wolfgang is credited with playing Piano Concertos K.459 and K.537 (the two “Coronation Concertos”) here.  He played a four-hand piano concerto with Beecke as well.

Beecke died on 2 January 1803, just a year after Prince Kraft Ernst, having served more than 40 years with the court orchestra of Oettingen-Wallerstein.  Though considered by most as likable and witty, he was reputed to have led a dissipated life and died with many debts.  Finally, while rightly considered one of the best orchestras in existence, Prince Kraft’s court was disbanded a few years later when the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bavaria in accordance with the Acts of the Rhine Confederation resulting from the Napoleonic wars of the times. 

Major Works:  Beecke composed 11 stage works, one each mass, requiem and oratorio, 7 other church works, 33 symphonies (several lost), 3 symphonia concertantes, 24 keyboard concerti, at least 14 string quartets, around 43 keyboard sonatas and 16 other various chamber works.

Music: Ignatz von Beecke  3 String Quartets cpo 999 509-2

Sources:

Liner notes to the above CD.

Sadie, Stanley (Ed.)  The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2^nd Edition   Groves Dictionaries, New York  2000

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