Did Beethoven wear glasses? Although his portraits don’t show him wearing any, a pair of his glasses is preserved at the Beethoven-Haus museum in Bonn. A New York Times reporter was recently startled to see them on display.
Some personal reminiscences of Beethoven describe him as wearing glasses, for example, as a result of “weak eyes” from childhood smallpox, a need “even in his early youth to resort to concave, very strong (highly magnifying) spectacles.” (Thayer-Forbes, p. 371)
One of the most curious pieces of evidence for Beethoven wearing glasses is a duet for viola and cello that he wrote to play with his cello-playing eyeglass-wearing friend Nikolaus Zmeskall, an official in the Hungarian Chancellery in Vienna, who often did favors for Beethoven.
Beethoven titled his duet for viola and cello “Duett mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern” (“duet with two obbligato eyeglasses”), “obbligato” being a term used in music to indicate something that should be played as written, or something indispensable, not optional, obligatory.
#Beethoven250 Day 85
Duet for Two Obbligato Eyeglasses (WoO 32), 1796–97
The obligation to wear eyeglasses is taken serious by Jebat Kee (@jebatarjunakee) on viola and Nathan Watts on cello.
#Beethoven250 Day 85
Duet for Two Obbligato Eyeglasses (WoO 32), 1796–97
Cynthia Phelps is principal violist of the NY Philharmonic. Efe Baltacigil is principal cello of the Seattle Symphony. They surely should know what “obbligato” means.