Carl Amenda (1771-1836) - Anonyme Fotografie

After studying theology in Jena, Karl Amenda came to Vienna in 1798 where he became a reader for Prince Lobkowitz. As a violinist, he met Beethoven. Soon a sincere and close friendship developed between the two young men. Amenda was one of the first friends whom Beethoven told about the tremendous deterioration of his hearing. On June 25th, 1799, Beethoven dedicated to Amenda the duplication of the individual voices taken from his string quartet in F major, op. 18 No. 1.

Only one year later, Amenda left Vienna and relocated to Kurland to work as a private teacher. From 1802 onwards until his death he lived as a preacher in Talso (now Latvia) where he was also buried. (S.B.)