Alexander Wheelock Thayer (b. South Natick, Massachusetts, USA, 17 October 1817, d. Trieste, Italy, 15 July 1897), was a librarian and journalist who became the author of the first scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, still after many updatings regarded as a standard work of reference on the composer. Natick Common, Halloween 2004 Natick is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. ... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Country Italy Region Friuli-Venezia Giulia Province Trieste (TS) Mayor Roberto Dipiazza (since 2001) Elevation 2 m Area 84 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 207,069  - Density 2,480/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Triestini Dialing code 040 Postal code 34100 Frazioni See list... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... // Today, films and television programs surrounding the lives of famous people are a major part of the entertainment industry. ... 1820 portrait by Karl Stieler Ludwig van Beethoven (pronounced ) (baptised December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and pianist. ...

Life

Originally a librarian at Harvard law school, Thayer became aware of many discrepancies in the biography of Beethoven by Anton Schindler, Beethoven's sometime amanuensis, which had first appeared in 1840. (The unreliability and invention of Schindler have since been extensively exposed by later scholars). In 1849 Thayer sailed for Europe to undertake his own researches, learning German and collecting information. Supporting himself by journalism and after many privations, he was eventually appointed US Consul in Trieste, where he was able to pursue his labours. The first edition of the biography, (in German), in three volumes, covering Beethoven's life to 1816, appeared between 1866 and 1879. The work was completed by Thayer's German colleague Herman Deiters and, after Deiters's death, by Hugo Reimann. Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Anton Schindler-alternate name of Anton Felix Schindler. ... The title Consul has been used for official representatives of a state, outside its (metropolitan) territory, looking after its interests (a task normally largely transferred to the formal diplomacy) and, especially, those of its subjects, individuals as well as enterprises. ...

Thayer's work on Beethoven set a benchmark for modern standards of accuracy, research and analysis in biography.

In 1865 Thayer wrote:

I fight for no theories and cherish no prejudices; my sole point of view is the truth.

Henry Krehbiehl, who created the first English edition of the biography in 1921, wrote of Thayer in 1917: Henry Edward Krehbiel (March 10, 1854–March 20, 1923) was an American music critic and musicologist. ...

His industry, zeal, keen power of analysis, candor and fair-mindedness won the confidence of all with whom he casme into contact except the literasry charlatans whose romances he was bent on destroying in the interest of the verities of history.

The most recent version of the biography is revised and edited by Elliot Forbes (2 vols., Princeton University Press, 1967, ISBN 069109103x)

Sources

• Thayer's Life of Beethoven, rev. and ed. Elliot Forbes.

• Thayer, Alexander Wheelock in Groves Dictionary