Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein-Wartenberg

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Count Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von Waldstein and Wartenberg
Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein - silhouette (by Babette Koch ?) In Ludwig van Beethoven's family book

Count Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von Waldstein and Wartenberg (born March 24, 1762 in Vienna ; † May 26, 1823 in Vienna) was a privy councilor in Bonn , lieutenant general in the British army , commander of the Teutonic Order and a sponsor of Ludwig van Beethoven .

biography

Count Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein came from the Bohemian noble family Waldstein-Wartenberg . He was the fourth son of Emanuel Philibert von Waldstein-Wartenberg and his wife Maria Anna Theresia von Liechtenstein . His older brothers were Joseph Karl Emanuel, Johann Friedrich and Franz Adam von Waldstein and Wartenberg .

In 1787 he entered the Teutonic Order and became a novice in Ellingen . Waldstein had been in Bonn since the beginning of 1788 and was knighted there on June 17, 1788 by Elector Max Franz as Grand Master of the order . A year later he became a “real privy councilor” and a member of the State Conference of the Order of Bonn. Two years later he earned a knight's seat in Godesberg and became a member of the Electoral Cologne Country Stand shaft . From 1788 to 1792 Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein was active in various diplomatic missions. In 1792 he received the command of the order in the Coming Virnsberg , in the Deutschordensballei Franken . At the beginning of 1794 Waldstein was in Vienna in the wake of the Elector who had fled from the French. With a memorandum written on March 1, 1794, Waldstein tried to influence the Elector politically. He accused him of "having exceeded his powers in negotiations with imperial generals".

On June 3, 1795, Waldstein signed a contract with Great Britain to set up a "Regiment Mergentheim" from German recruits. Since 1796 he was in London. On July 23, 1797 the elector wrote: "Ferdinand Waldstein has not let the order or its creditors hear anything from him for over a year, I wish him a lot of money and wisdom". His regiment never reached the desired strength of 1200 men, it was stationed in the West Indies in 1797 and disbanded in 1798. Many of the soldiers were transferred to the British 60th (Royal American) regiment . In 1807 he quit his service in Great Britain.

From 1809 on, Waldstein lived in Vienna or on his Bohemian estates. In 1811 he resigned from the order. On May 9, 1812, he married Countess Isabella Rzewuska. After unfortunate financial actions, he became impoverished. Count Waldstein died in Vienna in 1823.

His daughter Ludmilla Antonia Franciska Marie Clementine was married to Franz de Paula Deym von Střítež (1807–1872). His grandson was the diplomat Franz Deym von Střítež .

Friend and supporter of Ludwig van Beethoven

During his time in Bonn, Waldstein participated intensively in the social and cultural life of the royal seat and was open to new ideas. He became a member of the Bonn Reading Society in 1788 and its director in 1794 and was one of the subscribers to the poems of the Bonn professor and later Jacobin Eulogius Schneider .

Waldstein was musical, a good pianist and he composed himself. In Bonn he became friends with the Breuning family, where he came into contact with Beethoven - at least since a knight ballet he organized in 1791. A year earlier, Waldstein had Beethoven Commissioned to write music for a knight ballet. The score was completed in 1791/92 under the title Variations à quatre mains pour le Pianoforte sur une Thème de Monsieur le Comte de Waldstein by Louis van Beethoven and printed in 1794.

Entry in Beethoven's stud book

Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein was Beethoven's first and probably most important patron . It was he who got him the scholarship for his trip to Vienna in 1792. And when Beethoven left his hometown in November 1792, Waldstein wrote in Beethoven's studbook on October 29 :

Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein's entry in Ludwig van Beethoven's family album
Dear Beethowen!
You are now traveling to Vienna to fulfill your so long
disputed wishes. Mozart's genius is still mourning
and weeping for the death of his pupil. Bey the un =
He found refuge in abundant Hayden, but had no employment
activity; through him he wishes one more time with someone
to be united. Through uninterrupted diligence
you get: Mozart's spirit from Hayden's hands.
Bonn d 29t. Oct. 792. Your dear friend Waldstein OT

Although the composer dedicated his Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major op. 53 , which went down in music history as the “Waldstein Sonata ”, to Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein in 1804 , the two apparently had no closer contacts during their time in Vienna. This is indicated by an entry by Beethoven from December 1819: “Count Waldstein was nearby. Does he live here now? "

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max Braubach (Ed.): The family books of Beethoven and Babette Koch , p. 159
  2. ↑ cit. in Max Braubach (ed.): The family books of Beethoven and Babette Koch , p. 159
  3. ↑ Max Braubach (Ed.): The family books of Beethoven and Babette Koch , p. 19
personal data
SURNAME Waldstein-Wartenberg, Ferdinand Ernst von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waldstein and Wartenberg, Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lieutenant General of the British Army, Commander of the Teutonic Order and a sponsor of Ludwig van Beethoven
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1762
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH May 26, 1823
Place of death Vienna