ts
publication, which took place in December, 1816.

That Chopin had a high opinion of Beethoven may be gathered from a story
which Lenz relates in an article written for the "Berliner Musikzeitung"
(Vol. XXVI). Little Filtsch--the talented young Hungarian who made Liszt
say: "I shall shut my shop when he begins to travel"--having played to
a select company invited by his master the latter's Concerto in E minor,
Chopin was so pleased with his pupil's performance that he went with
him to Schlesinger's music-shop, asked for the score of "Fidelio," and
presented it to him with the words:--"I am in your debt, you have given
me great pleasure to-day, I wrote the concerto in a happy time, accept,
my dear young friend, the great master work! read in it as long as
you live and remember me also sometimes." But Chopin's high opinion of
Beethoven was neither unlimited nor unqualified. His attitude as regards
this master, which Franchomme briefly indicated by saying that his
friend loved Beethoven, but had his dislikes in connection with him, is
more fully explained by Liszt.

However great his admiration for the works of Beethoven might
be, certain parts of them seemed to him too rudely fashioned.
Their structure was too athletic to please him; their wraths
seemed to him too violent [leurs courroux lui semblaient trop
rugissants]. He held that in them passion too closely
approaches cataclysm; the lion's marrow which is found in
every member of his phrases was in his opinion a too
substantial matter, and the seraphic accents, the Raphaelesque
profiles, which appear in the midst of the powerful creations
of this genius, became at times almost painful to him in so
violent a contrast.

I am able to illustrate this most excellent general description by some
examples. Chopin said that Beethoven raised him one moment up to the
heavens and the next moment precipitated him to the earth, nay, into the
very mire. Such a fall Chopin experienced always at the commencement of
the last movement of the C minor Symphony. Gutmann, who informed me
of this, added that pieces such as the first movement of the Moonlight
Sonata (C sharp minor) were most highly appreciated by his master. One
day when Mr. Halle played to Chopin one of the three Sonatas, Op. 31
(I am not sure which it was), the latter remarked that he had formerly
thought the last movement VULGAR. From this Mr. Halle naturally
concluded that Chopin could not have