Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblatt zu "Der Liebende" WoO 139 und einem nicht ausgeführten Lied "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde", Autograph

Favourite writer

On the front of this sketch leaf Beethoven made drafts for the Lied "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde" with a text by Friedrich Schiller. Beethoven greatly admired Schiller. He frequently quoted the writer in his letters and also quoted lines from Schiller's works in entries in albums and canons. On 8 August 1809 Beethoven wrote a letter to Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, ordering a complete edition of the works of Goethe and Schiller. He wrote, "The two writers are my favourite writers (...) as you only need to take the same Goethe and Schiller out of your treasure chamber, you'll be doing me the greatest of favours." The composer sketched Lieder using Schiller's texts several times, but never finished them in the end. "Das Mädchen aus der Fremde" with a piano and clarinet accompaniment was also never completed. (J.R.)