Rudolph (Johann Joseph Rainer), Archduke of Austria

(b Florence, 8 Jan 1788; d Baden, nr Vienna, 24 July 1831). Austrian patron of music and composer. The youngest of the 16 children born to Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Emperor Leopold II), and Princess Maria Ludovica of Spain, he was brought to Vienna in 1792 when his eldest brother, Archduke Franz, became Emperor. His thorough education included instruction in music from the Court Composer, Anton Teyber (1756–1822). Because of his delicate health, Rudolph entered the Church and in 1819 was made Cardinal and Archbishop of Olmütz (Olomouc). It was for Rudolph’s installation ceremonies in 1820 that Beethoven planned his Missa solemnis. As a child, Rudolph showed an exceptional talent for music, and at 15 was performing as a pianist. According to Thayer, he met Beethoven in the winter of 1803–4 and began piano and theory lessons with him, followed shortly by lessons in composition; their relationship was one marked by mutual affection and esteem. Beethoven dedicated 11 of his greatest compositions to Rudolph, among them the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the piano sonata ‘Les Adieux’, the ‘Archduke’ trio, the ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata and the Missa solemnis. In 1809 the Archduke, with Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, established a lifelong annuity for Beethoven with the sole stipulation that the composer remain in Vienna. Rudolph used his influence on Beethoven’s behalf on later occasions, including interceding in the litigation involving his nephew Karl.

Beethoven taught composition to Rudolph for more than two decades, and the Archduke composed steadily under Beethoven’s tutelage, leaving a small but well-crafted body of works, three of which were published during his lifetime: the variations Aufgabe von Ludwig van Beethoven gedichtet, Vierzig Mahl verändert und ihrem Verfasser gewidmet von seinem Schüler R.E.H. op.1 (1819), the Sonata in A for clarinet and piano op.2 (1822) and a fugue variation in Diabelli’s collection of 50 variations on his own waltz theme (1823). He composed mainly either for piano or for small ensembles including piano, and variations occupy a prominent place in his output; his sole orchestral work is an arrangement of 12 Allemandes originally composed for piano duet.

Rudolph did not venture beyond the traditional forms, genres and harmonic language of the period; a notable feature is his strong lyrical bent that prefigures the Romantic style of the following generation. Most of the autographs and manuscript copies of his works are preserved in the archives of the archbishop’s palace in Kroměříž and the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. Several of Rudolph’s autographs show emendations and suggestions in Beethoven’s hand. His other interests included engraving and collecting music and art: his collection of music and books was bequeathed to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, the institution of which he became the first Protektor in 1814.

WORKS

(selective list)

unpublished unless otherwise stated; thematic catalogue of complete works in Kagan (1988)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Nettl: ‘Erinnerungen an Erzherzog Rudolph, den Freund und Schüler Beethovens’, ZMw, iv (1921–2), 95–9

K. Vetterl: ‘Der musikalische Nachlass der Erzherzogs Rudolf im erzbischöflichen Archiv zu Kremsir’, ZMw, ix (1926–7), 168–79

D.W. MacArdle: ‘Beethoven and the Archduke Rudolph’, BeJb 1959–60, 36–58

A. Novotny: ‘Kardinal Erzherzog Rudolph (1788–1831) und seiner Bedeutung für Wien’, Wiener Geschichtsblätter, iv (1961), 341–7

E. Forbes, ed.: Thayer’s Life of Beethoven (Princeton, NJ, 1964, 2/1967)

S. Kagan: Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s Patron, Pupil, and Friend: his Life and Music (Stuyvesant, NY, 1988)

SUSAN KAGAN