Aloys Weißenbach (1766-1821) - Lithographie von Adolph Friedrich Kunike wohl aus dem ersten Viertel des 19. Jahrhunderts, Fotografie, Wien, um 1920?

The surgeon Aloys Weissenbach from Tirol was not only known as a doctor but also as a poet. He lived in Salzburg since 1804 and worked as professor of surgery and senior surgeon at the hospital "Johannesspital". Weissenbach first met Ludwig van Beethoven in 1814, when he came to Vienna for a visit. On this occasion, he wrote the text for Beethoven's cantata "Der glorreiche Augenblick" ("The Glorious Moment") op. 136. For the musical version, Beethoven's friend Carl Bernard (1780-1850) had to fundamentally revise Weissenbach's rather pompous poetry. But it was still published under the name of Weissenbach. Two years later, the physician published a description of his time in Vienna, called "Meine Reise zum Congress" ("My Journey to the Congress"), which contains various memories of Beethoven.(S.B.)