Beethoven and Neefe—A Reappraisal

Abstract

Deeply entrenched in Beethoven biography is the view that Christian Gottlob Neefe was the composer’s most important teacher in Bonn and that Beethoven was grateful to him. Critical writing has always vaunted Neefe’s merits in lavish terms, in sharp contradiction to the recollection of a contemporary in Bonn, his friend Franz Wegeler, who downplayed Neefe’s significance. This essay investigates the primary sources with regard to the role of Neefe in an attempt to shed light on the discrepancy. Early biographical writing is scrutinized to investigate how these early sources were presented and interpreted. Decisive were the views of Alexander Wheelock Thayer, whose authoritative biography set the standard for decades. A contextualization of Neefe’s role in musical Bonn and his leadership of the Illuminati (a branch of freemasonry), together with information on Beethoven’s trip to Holland in 1783, leads to the conclusion that Neefe’s alleged importance is a nineteenth-century construction based on uncertain evidence. The cherished notion of a close affinity between teacher and pupil is debunked as a myth that would better not be perpetuated.