during 1794 and 95 at Prince Carl Lichnowsky's, where he took the first violin, the Prince himself, or a Silesian named Sina, the second, Weiss the viola, and Kraft, an artist from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, the cello—occasionally changing with Beethoven's friend, Zmeskall. Towards the close of 1808 Schuppanzigh founded the Rasoumoffsky quartet, to which he, Mayseder and Linke, remained attached for life. Weiss again took the viola. Beethoven's quartets were the staple of their performances. In the meantime Schuppanzigh had married a Fraulein Kilitzky, the sister of a well-known singer, who sang, with little success it is true, 'Ah perfido!' at a concert of Beethoven's in 1808, instead of Anna Milder. On this occasion the great joker writes to Graf Brunswick, 'Schuppanzigh is married—they say his wife is as fat as himself—what a family??' (Nohl, Neue Briefe, p. 11.) When the Rasoumoffsky palace was burnt down in 1815 Schuppanzigh started on a tour through Germany, Poland, and Russia, and did not return till early in 1824, when the quartets were resumed with the same band of friends (see Beethoven's letters to his nephew, 1825). One of the first events after his return was the performance of Schubert's Octet, which is marked as finished on March 1, and was doubtless played very shortly after. [See vol. iii. p. 339b.] The acquaintance thus begun was cemented by Schubert's dedication of his lovely Quartet in A 'to his friend I. Schuppanzigh,' a year later. Schuppanzigh was a member of the court-chapel, and for some time director of the court-opera. He died of paralysis, March 2, 1830. Of his compositions the following were printed:—'Solo pour le violon avec quatuor' (Diabelli), 'Variationen über ein russisches Lied' (Cappi), and 'Variationen über ein Thema aus Alcina' (Mollo).
SCHÜTT, Eduard, born Oct. 22, 1856, at St. Petersburg, was intended for a mercantile career, but relinquished it for music, which he learned from Petersen and Stein sufficiently to pass the examination at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, with honour, in 1876. He then entered the Conservatoire at Leipzig, passed the final examination there in 1878, and went to Vienna, where he was recently elected conductor of the Akademische Wagner-Verein, and where he resides in close intimacy with Leschetitsky. In January 1882 he played his Concerto (op. 7) in G minor, before the Russian Musical Society at St. Petersburg. It was performed at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, April 15, 1882, by Mad. Frickenhaus. His published works contain—Serenade for strings, op. 6; Variations for 2 Pianos, op. 9; Songs; etc.
SCHWARZSPANIERHAUS, THE, or House of the Black Spaniards, into which Beethoven removed at the beginning of October 1825, and where he died March 26, 1827. The political and ecclesiastical relations between the two bigoted catholic countries Austria and Spain, in the 16th and 17th centuries, were very close and intimate. The Infanta, Marianne, daughter of Philip III of Spain, on her departure (1629) for Vienna, to become the wife of Ferdinand, took with her Prior Benedict von Pennalosa Mondragon, to establish a branch house of the once famous Benedictines of Montserrat in her new abode. Notwithstanding the very serious and earnest objections of the military authorities, she prevailed upon the Emperor to build a monastery on the outer border of the northern glacis, and the corner-stone was laid with great ceremony November 15, 1633. Fifty years afterwards (1683), on the approach of the Turks, the buildings were burnt, as a step necessary to the defence of the city. After the repulse of the Turks and the restoration of peace, Anton Vogel, a Viennese novice of the order, travelled through Italy, Spain and Portugal, and collected funds sufficient to rebuild the monastery of which he was, not unnaturally, then made Prior. This is the present Schwarzspanierhaus. On the accession of Joseph II. to the throne of his mother, Maria Theresa, the few remaining monks were sent into the Schottenhof or 'Scotch' Cloister, and the building was sold. The name originated thus:—A few minutes' walk west of the edifice was another monastery, also originally Spanish, of 'Trinitarians.' Their costume was white; that of their neighbours black. Hence the two became distinguished in local parlance as the 'White Spaniards' and 'Black Spaniards' (Weisse Spanier, and Schwarze Spanier), and that too, long after the last monk of Spanish blood had passed away.
South: looking towards Vienna.
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Court.
| a. Stair and Entrance. b. Ante-rooms. c. Beethoven's bedroom (23 ft. 6 in. × 21 ft. 6 in.). |
d. Stove. e. Bed. f. Kitchen. |
The Schwarzspanierhaus is that long range of building, with an old church at its western end, which stands in the rear of the new Votive Church at Vienna. Counting from the old church, the fifth to the ninth windows in the upper story were those of Beethoven's lodging, of which the above is a plan. The sixth and seventh windows were in the large front room, (c), and, in the corner opposite the sixth stood the bed on which he died. By raising himself in bed, he could see across the glacis the house—now long since demolished—in which Lichnowsky and Peter Erdödy lived; and a few doors to the west, that of Pasqualatti, where he himself had so long had a lodging.
From the window, again, looking to the right, diagonally across the square, could be seen the 'Rothe Haus,' the residence of Breuning.
