Note 141 — Chapter VII
Henry Edward Krehbiel translation
Dr. Deiters prints in a foot-note a different version of this story from Castelli’s memoirs. According to this it was Castelli who set the theme for Beethoven, he having, after long urging, said, “Very well, in the name of the three devils; but Castelli, who has no idea of pianoforte playing, must give me a theme.” Thereupon Castelli brushed his finger up and down three adjacent keys of the pianoforte and these notes Beethoven continually wove into the music which he improvised for an hour, by the clock. Smart names the ten men who composed Schlesinger’s party; Castelli’s is not among them, and Smart’s story, noted in his journal at the time, is unquestionably correct. Schlesinger may have given another dinner, or Castelli’s imagination been livelier than his memory.