Waldstein, Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel, Count von Waldstein und Wartenberg ZU Dux
Waldstein, Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel, Count von Waldstein und Wartenberg ZU Dux
Waldstein, Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel, Count von Waldstein und Wartenberg ZU Dux, German-Bohemian amateur musician; b. Duchov, Bohemia, March 24, 1762; d. Vienna, Aug. 29, 1823. In 1787 he began his novitiate in the Teutonic Order in Ellingen, transferring to the electoral court in Bonn in 1788, where he received his order. He became acquainted with Beethoven, and on several occasions aided him materially, pretending that the sums were extra allowances from the Elector; after Beethoven’s departure for Vienna, Waldstein introduced him in the circles of the aristocracy there. From 1795 he traveled widely, first in the military and later in diplomatic service. By 1812 his relations with Beethoven had cooled. In 1816 he declared bankruptcy and eventually died in poverty. Beethoven wrote a set of variations in C for Piano, 4-Hands, on a theme of Waldstein (publ. 1794), and later (1805) dedicated to him the great Sonata in C, op.53. Waldstein also planned the Ritter-Ballet (1791), to which Beethoven wrote the music (score publ. 1872). Waldstein composed a Sym. in D major (ed. in Denkmäler Rheinischer Musik, I, Düsseldorf, 1951).
Bibliography
J. Heer, Der Graf von W. und sein Verhältnis zu Beethoven (Leipzig, 1933).
—Niolas Slonimky/Laura kuhn/Dennis McIntre