Beethoven Association Records

1918-1940

The Beethoven Association was a social group formed in 1918 that came into existence in part because of displacement caused by World War I, and the inability of musicians to travel between the United States and Europe. It was led by the pianist Harold Bauer and the society was partially comprised of leading performers of the day. The goal of the Association was to raise money for worthy causes such as the publication of H.E. Krehbiel's (1854-1923) English translation of Alexander Wheelock Thayer's (1817-1897) biography of Beethoven. Thayer was the first to write a scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven. Fundraising was done by setting up concerts and the the first season had been a success for the publication.

As a result, the society would sponsor many concerts with notable performers between the wars. The Association acquired their own library of rare first and early editions of Beethoven, enabled members to purchase relevant publications concerning Beethoven, and donated funds to causes that promoted Beethoven.

The funds raised in subsequent seasons from concert proceeds allowed money to be distributed to the Library of Congress, the Music Division of the New York Public Library, the MacDowell Memorial Association, and the Beethovenhaus in Bonn, Germany, for the publication of Oscar G. Sonneck's book "Beethoven Letters in America," for the Mozart Memorial Theater in Salzburg, Austria, for purchasing copies of the 1921 facsimile of the manuscript of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata (to be distributed to members), and many other causes. After the onset of the Great Depression, the Associaton devoted funds to the Musicians' Emergency Aid and the Musicians' Foundation.

By the end of the 1930s, interest in and the need for the organization was in doubt due to the growth of similar chamber concert programs in various venues throughout New York City. By 1940, the Beethoven Association had dissolved.