Record ID
139092
Accession number
MFC B4155.B851
Creator
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827.
Biographical Data
German composer.
Object title
Autograph letter signed, dated : [n.p., Vienna, n.d.], to [George Polgreen Bridgetower], [1803 between the beginning of April and the end of July].
Date
[1803 between the beginning of April and the end of July].
Provenance
Christies (London), 1972.12.20, lot 095 (through Haas); purchased with watercolor portrait of Bridgetower (CMP B851) and an engraved portrait of Rodolphe Kreutzer (CMP K929).
Notes
The recipient is George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (1778-1860), a virtuoso violinist, who lived in England for much of his life. He was born in Poland to a German mother and a father, who was probably West Indian (possibly from Barbados), although he also claimed to be an African prince, as stated in George's baptismal record. Bridgetower is the original dedicatee of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata.
Associated names
Bridgetower, George Augustus Polgreen, recipient.
Catalog link
Department