Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein - Wikipedia, the free ency...

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Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Count Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von Waldstein und

Wartenberg (24 March 1762 26 May 1823) was a German
nobleman and patron of the arts. A member of the Bohemian
House of Waldstein and an early patron of Ludwig van
Beethoven, his political and military roles included the office of
a Geheimrat in Bonn, lieutenant-general in the British army, and
commander (Komtur) of the Teutonic Order.

Contents
1
2
3
4

Life
Patron
Notes
Sources

Count von Waldstein, about 1800

Life
Waldstein was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Count Emanuel Philibert von Waldstein
(17311775) and his wife Maria Anna Theresa of Liechtenstein. He was the younger brother of
Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein.
In 1787 he joined the Teutonic Knights and became a novice in Ellingen. Living in Bonn from early
1788 onwards, Waldstein received, on 17 June that year, the knighthood of the Order by its Grand
Master Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, the Elector of Cologne. He was admitted to
electoral court in Bonn and one year later became Geheimrat ("privy councillor") of the Order and
a member of its Staatskonferenz . Two years later, he acquired a knightly estate in Godesberg and
thus became a member of the Cologne Landstandschaft.
From 1788 to 1792, Ferdinand was sent on various diplomatic missions. In 1792, he received the
Komtur office of the Order at Virnsberg Castle in Franconia. By early 1794, he was in the
entourage of Elector Maximilian Francis, who had fled to Vienna from the invading French forces
during the War of the First Coalition.
He became obsessed with the idea of defeating the French, broke up with the Elector and
squandered all his money raising an army.[1] On 3 June 1795, Ferdinand sealed a contract with
England on creating a "Mergentheim regiment". From 1796, he was in London. On 23 July 1797,
Maximilian Francis wrote, "For over a year neither the order nor his creditors have heard anything

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Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein - Wikipedia, the free ency...

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Ferdinand_Ernst_Gabriel_von_Wal...

from Ferdinand von Waldstein, I wish him much money and intelligence". Evidence shows
Ferdinand was occasionally with his regiment in the West Indies. In 1807, he left the British army.
From 1809, Ferdinand lived in Vienna or on his Bohemian estates. He withdrew from the Order in
1811. On 9 May 1812, Ferdinand married the wealthy Countess Isabella Rzewuska and organised
numerous festivities on the sidelines of the Vienna Congress. After several unfortunate financial
transactions, however, he became impoverished, and died in 1823 in Vienna.

Patron
Waldstein, a fairly good pianist and composer, took an active
part in the public life of Bonn. In the literary circles of professor
Eulogius Schneider he noticed the young Ludwig van
Beethoven around 1790 and he became one of his early patrons.
In 1791/92 Beethoven finished a score Eight variations for
piano four hands on a theme by Count Waldstein.
It was Waldstein who recommended young Beethoven to
Joseph Haydn[2] and arranged a scholarship for him. His entry
in Beethoven's friendship book on the composer's departure for
Vienna in November 1792 remain famous:

Waldstein's entry in Beethoven's

friendship book

Dear Beethoven! You go to realise a long-desired wish : the genius of Mozart is still
in mourning and weeps for the death of its disciple. (...) By incessant application,
receive Mozart's spirit from Haydn's hands.

In 1804 Beethoven dedicated his Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op.53, known as the Waldstein, to
him.[3] However, it seems that both men hardly had contact with one another at that time.

Notes
1. Suchet, "Beethoven's patrons - Count Waldstein."
2. http://www.madaboutbeethoven.com/pages/people_and_places/people_patrons
/people_patrons_waldstein.htm
3. Mintz, 188.

Sources
Beach, David; Donald Mintz; Robert Palmer (Winter 1969). "Analysis Symposium: Beethoven: Sonata,
Op. 53". Journal of Music Theory. 13 (2): 186217. doi:10.2307/842986. JSTOR 842986.
Suchet, John. "Beethoven's patrons - Count Waldstein". Retrieved 21 April 2007.

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Categories: 1762 births 1823 deaths Bohemian nobility Counts of Germany
British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Teutonic Knights Ludwig van Beethoven
Musicians from Vienna British Army generals
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