Spring Break
Center chronicles the life of Beethoven
Richard Stern
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: News
On the fifth floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, people can see 200-year-old original manuscripts in the hand of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
"We have letters that Beethoven wrote to publishers," said Patricia Stroh, curator of the Ira F. Brilliant Center of Beethoven Studies. "We also have a hand-scribbled note from a very poignant point in his life.
"He was the guardian of his nephew. The nephew became quite ill and attempted suicide. Immediately after that, Beethoven scribbled this note to his friend asking him the name of the police officer that took his nephew to the hospital."
In addition, the center has a page from Beethoven's household account book. It shows how much money his housekeeper was spending on daily items and gives visitors a window into his everyday life.
The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies houses more than 4,000 volumes covering not only Beethoven himself, but the period in which he lived, the instruments he played and his contemporaries.
The center was founded by Arizona businessman Ira F. Brilliant in 1985 and was housed in the Wahlquist Library, the predecessor to the King Library.
"Mr. Brilliant was a collector of Beethoven materials," said Kathy Fox, the center's administrative assistant. "He offered to donate the collection to Arizona State University, but was turned down. Arizona State didn't want a center focused on just one composer."
SJSU was offered the collection, accepted, and built it around Brilliant's original donation.
"Mr. Brilliant originally donated 75 first editions, which has now increased to over 300," Fox said. "A first edition means they are first printings. Beethoven would write the composition down by hand and send it to the publisher. The publisher would then send the piece to a printer who would have plates made. From those plates, the sheet music would be printed."
Today the center has a large library of books, sound recordings, videos and modern score editions.
"We have letters that Beethoven wrote to publishers," said Patricia Stroh, curator of the Ira F. Brilliant Center of Beethoven Studies. "We also have a hand-scribbled note from a very poignant point in his life.
"He was the guardian of his nephew. The nephew became quite ill and attempted suicide. Immediately after that, Beethoven scribbled this note to his friend asking him the name of the police officer that took his nephew to the hospital."
In addition, the center has a page from Beethoven's household account book. It shows how much money his housekeeper was spending on daily items and gives visitors a window into his everyday life.
The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies houses more than 4,000 volumes covering not only Beethoven himself, but the period in which he lived, the instruments he played and his contemporaries.
The center was founded by Arizona businessman Ira F. Brilliant in 1985 and was housed in the Wahlquist Library, the predecessor to the King Library.
"Mr. Brilliant was a collector of Beethoven materials," said Kathy Fox, the center's administrative assistant. "He offered to donate the collection to Arizona State University, but was turned down. Arizona State didn't want a center focused on just one composer."
SJSU was offered the collection, accepted, and built it around Brilliant's original donation.
"Mr. Brilliant originally donated 75 first editions, which has now increased to over 300," Fox said. "A first edition means they are first printings. Beethoven would write the composition down by hand and send it to the publisher. The publisher would then send the piece to a printer who would have plates made. From those plates, the sheet music would be printed."
Today the center has a large library of books, sound recordings, videos and modern score editions.
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