We start a new series on Popular Beethoven Magazine, featuring anecdotes from Beethoven’s life. First of the many coming articles is about his horse.
Beethoven and his horse
It is hard to imagine something that is more strange than a horse-riding Beethoven! A man who lived in the city of Vienna, not owning a house or stable, but frequently moving from apartment to apartment, a man who other than sitting at his piano was a very clumsy man, whose sense of balance was more than questionable: a horse owner!
The story goes like this. There was a Russian born nobleman living in Vienna called Count Johann Georg von Browne (or Johann Georg von Browne-Camus; 20 September 1767 – January 1827). He was an officer in the Russian army who moved to Vienna in 1794. He had estates in Livonia (present day Latvia) that meant stable financial background for the family.
Count Browne quickly became a fan and supporter of young Beethoven, who was a regular visitor at the Browne house. Beethoven even recommended his own pupil, Ferdinand Ries, to be their appointed piano player. As to a patron, Beethoven dedicated more works to him, such as the String Trios (op. 9.), the Piano Sonata no.11. (op. 22.) or the Seven Variations for cello and piano in E-flat major.
The Count had a wife, Countess Anna Margaretha von Browne, daughter of Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff (director of the Russian medical college, and minister of health of Russia). Beethoven dedicated at least two compositions the her, the Twelve Variations on a Danse Russe (Russian dance) (WoO. 71.) and a four-hand piano sonata (op. 6., published by Artaria in October 1797).
The Countess, moved by the dedication, gifted Beethoven a horse! There is no recollection if the young composer was happy with the gift, but we know that he rode it a few times. He found a stable for the horse and then forgot all about it. Without an active ownership a hand began to rent the horse out for some side money, pocketing the income. Later, when Beethoven received a hefty bill for feeding and keeping the horse, he was infuriated.
We do not know what happened to this horse later, probably was given away as a gift.
