In 1812 on this date, Beethoven penned the famous letter to his "Immortal Beloved." He was in Prague and she was in Vienna. He wrote:
"Even when I am in bed my thoughts rush to you, my eternally beloved, now and then joyfully, then again sadly, waiting to know whether Fate will hear our prayer--To face life I must live altogether with you or never see you. Yes, I am resolved to be a wanderer abroad until I can fly to your arms and say that I have found my true home with you and enfolded in your arms can let my soul be wafted to the realm of blessed spirits--alas, unfortunately it must be so--You will become composed, the more so you know that I am faithful to you; no other woman can ever possess my heart--never--never--Oh God, why must one be separated form her who is so dear. Yet my life in V[ienna] at present is a miserable life--Your love has made me both the happiest and the unhappiest of mortals--At my age I now need stability and regularity in my life--can this coexist with our relationship?--Angel, I have just heard that the post goes every day--and therefore I must close, so that you may receive the letter immediately--Be calm; for only by calmly considering our lives can we achieve our purpose to live together--Be calm--love me--Today--yesterday--what tearful longing for you--for you--you--my life--my all--all good wishes to you--Oh, do continue to love me--never misjudge your lover's most faithful heart.
ever yours
ever mine
ever ours."
Lord knows, the guy had more than his share of axes to grind , and he was not known for his self-restraint---dainty he ain't. The tremendous release of emotion that accompanied this letter must have been as powerful as any of his in-your-face, box-your-ears, I-was-heavy-metal-before-there-was-heavy-metal symphonies.
But there's a quieter intensity in his quartets, and if you set aside a few minutes
you find it riveting and exquisite to the extreme. For example, #15--the second to the last Quartet. Here's the third movement:
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