Ferdinand Ries, Brief an Franz Gerhard Wegeler in Koblenz, Ingelheim, Juli 1837, Autograph

During his stay at a health resort in Wiesbaden Ries is transforming piano compositions from Beethoven into string quartets and is working on the "Biographical Notes" (Beethoven biography). He stresses that Wegeler may review and adapt the notes on Beethoven. He himself would add some more details. Using letters from Beethoven Wegeler shall complement the composer's opinion of Ries as a friend and artist. There is also talk about a letter from Beethoven in which the composer mentions his only two music students, namely Ries and Archduke Rudolph. "Denn ich gestehe, ich mag Sch[indler]- nicht, um das Kleeblatt der B:schen Schüler vollzumachen, denn ich kann das nicht alles glauben und verdauen, was der todte B: gesagt haben soll, auch kann ich mir schlechterdings nicht begreiflich machen, wie dieser Sch[indler]- so ein Intimus von ihm geworden seyn soll - ich hätte nie geglaubt, daß das der Mensch für ihn gewesen sey. Auch hat er in allen seinen Briefen an mich in England /:also während dieser Zeit:/ nur zweymal seinen Namen gennent oder über ihn gesprochen." (I must admit, I do not like Sch[indler] to complete the trefoil of the Beethoven students, as I cannot believe what the dead B. should have said. Also I cannot understand how this Sch[indler] has become such a close friend. I never thought he was the one for him. In all the letters he sent me while I was in England, he only mentioned his name twice.) Ries has made the acquaintance of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Frankfurt. However, he found the meeting rather distant and insincere. They neither talked about the interpretation of Mendelssohn's compositions, something Ries had hoped for, nor did Mendelssohn praise Ries's oratorio "The kings in Israel" op. 186. (FG)