Maria Magdalena van Beethoven

Maria Magdalena van Beethoven
Painting by Benedikt Beckenkamp. The portrait's authenticity is disputed:[1] Alexander Wheelock Thayer writes that it rests on "uncertain tradition" and "lacks authoritative attestation".[2]
Born
Maria Magdalena Keverich

(1746-12-19)19 December 1746
Ehrenbreitstein
Died17 July 1787(1787-07-17) (aged 40)
Bonn
Other namesMaria Magdalena Leym
SpouseJohann van Beethoven
Children7, including Ludwig van Beethoven
Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven
Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven

Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, née Keverich (19 December 1746 – 17 July 1787)[3] was the wife of the Bonn court musician Johann van Beethoven and the mother of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Her birthplace is now a museum, the Mutter-Beethoven-Haus.

Life

Birthplace of Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, née Keverich, in Ehrenbreitstein, now a museum

Maria Magdalena Keverich was born in Ehrenbreitstein, a village on the Rhine opposite Koblenz (and now part of Koblenz). Her birthplace is now a museum, named Mutter-Beethoven-Haus.[4] Her parents were Johann Heinrich Keverich and Anna Klara (Clara) née Westorff, who married in 1731. From 1733, Johann was head cook at the court of Franz Georg von Schönborn, the Elector of Trier, at Schloss Philippsburg in Ehrenbreitstein.[5][6] Maria Magdalena was the youngest of their six children. Among her siblings was Johann Peter Keverich, who became a priest and prior of the Carmelite Monastery in Koblenz. Her father died when she was 12.[7]

Marriage to Johann Georg Leym

On 30 January 1763, she married Johann Georg Leym, 13 years her senior,[8] who was in the service of the Archbishop of Trier.[5][6] In 1764 they had a son, Johann Peter Anton Leym,[9] who died in infancy ('within a few days', by one source,[7] 'after a month', by another[10]). Johann Georg Leym died in 1765.[5]

As a teenage widow, she returned to living with her widowed mother.[5]

Marriage to Johann van Beethoven

She married Johann van Beethoven at the Church of St Remigius, Bonn on 12 November 1767. Johann's father was Kapellmeister at the court of the Electorate of Cologne, which was in Bonn, and Johann was a court musician there. Johann and Maria van Beethoven had seven children,[6][11] three of whom lived into adulthood:[12][13]

  • Ludwig Maria van Beethoven (2 April 1769 – 6 April 1769)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 in Bonn, Kurköln – 26 March 1827)
  • Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven (8 April 1774 – 15 November 1815)
  • Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven (2 October 1776 – 12 January 1848)
  • Anna Maria Franziska van Beethoven (23 February 1779 – 27 February 1779)
  • Franz Georg van Beethoven (17 January 1781 – 16 August 1783)
  • Maria Margarete Josepha van Beethoven (5 May 1786 – 26 November 1787)

Death

Maria died in Bonn on 17 July 1787 of tuberculosis, aged 40.[5][11] She was buried in the Alter Friedhof ('Old Cemetery'), Bonn.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "Bildnis einer unbekannten Dame, fälschlich als Beethovens Mutter Maria Magdalena van Beethoven bezeichnet - Gemälde, Kaspar Benedikt Beckenkamp zugeschrieben" [Portrait of an unknown lady, falsely identified as Beethoven's mother Maria Magdalena van Beethoven - painting attributed to Kaspar Benedikt Beckenkamp]. Bilderkatalog (in German). Beethoven-Haus Bonn. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  2. ^ Alexander Wheelock Thayer. The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven. Vol. I of III. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via books.google.com.
  3. ^ "Beethoven, Maria Magdalena van / 1746–1787". Rheinland-Pfälzische Personendatenbank. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Mutter-Beethoven-Haus". regionalgeschichte.net. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Maria Magdalena Keverich". Ehrenbreitstein.de. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Paul Nettl (1956). Beethoven Encyclopedia. Philosophical Library. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via archive.org. See entries "Brothers of Beethoven" and "Family"
  7. ^ a b "Beethoven's Mother: The Tragic Story of Maria Magdalena Beethoven". interlude.hk. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Die Mutter – Maria Magdalena Keverich". Ehrenbreitstein - Ort und Festung (in German). 6 May 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  9. ^ R, Damini (22 March 2025). "Ludwig van Beethoven's 7 Siblings Ranked Oldest to Youngest". Oldest.org. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Die Mutter – Maria Magdalena Keverich". Ehrenbreitstein - Ort und Festung (in German). 6 May 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025. Aus der Ehe mit Maria Magdalena Keverich entsprang ein Sohn, Johann Peter Anton, der bereits nach einem Monat starb. [From the marriage to Maria Magdalena Keverich, a son, Johann Peter Anton, who died after a month, emerged.]
  11. ^ a b "Parents". Beethoven.ws. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Karl van Beethoven's family Tree". lvbeethoven.com. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  13. ^ George, Georgina St (23 March 2019). "Beethoven's Siblings: The van Beethoven Family". CMUSE. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  14. ^ "BEETHOVEN, MARIA MAGDALENA VAN". weber-gesamtausgabe.de. Retrieved 21 August 2025. Biographical information from the WeGA Mother of Ludwig van Beethoven; buried in the Old Cemetery in Bonn
  15. ^ "Grave and Gravestone of Maria Magdalena van Beethoven (Alter Friedhof)". Bundesstadt Bonn (in German). Retrieved 21 August 2025.

Further reading

  • Joseph Schmidt-Görg. Beethoven. Die Geschichte seiner Familie [Beethoven: The Story of His Family] (1st Pub. 1964 ed.). Beethovenhaus. G. Henle Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88188-087-9. OL 26768953M.
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