Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies facts for kids
The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies is a special place dedicated to the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven. It's like a museum, a place for learning, and a spot for concerts, all about Beethoven's life and music. This center is the only one of its kind in North America. It has the biggest collection of Beethoven's works and cool items outside of Europe. San Jose State University and the American Beethoven Society run the center. You can find it on the fifth floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose, California.
Contents
How the Center Started
The center began in 1983. A man named Ira F. Brilliant, who collected many things related to Beethoven, gave his collection to San Jose State University. He wanted them to use it to create a special place about Beethoven. Mr. Brilliant's collection was considered the best private collection of Beethoven items in the United States. It included 75 "first editions" of Beethoven's music. The center officially opened its doors to the public in 1985.
How the Center Works
San Jose State University and the American Beethoven Society work together to run the center. San Jose State University provides the space and staff, treating the center as a special part of its library. The American Beethoven Society helps fund many of the center's activities. For example, they help pay for new items for the collection. They also support the publication of the Beethoven Journal, which comes out twice a year.
What You Can Find There
Over the years, the center has grown its collection. They have received many donations and bought new items. A big addition was in 1987 when they bought the collection of William S. Newman. He was a famous expert on Beethoven's music.
Music and Memorabilia
The center now has 300 "first editions" of Beethoven's music. These are the very first printed copies of his works. This is the largest collection in North America. It includes first editions of all his string quartets and most of his piano sonatas. They also have over 2,200 "early editions." These were published during Beethoven's lifetime or in the 1800s.
You can also find a special area to listen to audio recordings and watch performance videos. The center also displays items written by Beethoven himself. There is even a copy of his death mask, which is a mold taken of his face after he passed away.
The Guevara Lock
One of the most famous items at the center is a lock of Beethoven's hair. It is known as the Guevara Lock. This lock of hair was cut on March 27, 1827. This was just one day after Beethoven died. A German composer named Ferdinand Hiller cut the hair. He had traveled to Vienna to visit Beethoven before he passed away.
Hiller later gave the lock of hair to his son, Paul. Paul wrote about its history on the back of a locket that held the hair. After that, the hair's journey is a bit unclear. It reappeared in 1943. A Danish doctor named Kay Alexander Fremming received it as payment. He had given medical help to Jews who were escaping from the Nazis.
In 1994, Dr. Fremming's family sold the lock of hair at an auction in London. Four members of the American Beethoven Society bought it. They were Dr. Alfredo Guevara, Ira Brilliant, Dr. Thomas Wendel, and Caroline Crummey. The lock was named after Dr. Guevara because he was the main person who invested in buying it. He kept a small part of the hair and gave the rest to the Center for Beethoven Studies. The other buyers also donated all their parts of the hair to the center.
The original lock had 582 hairs. They were brown, white, and gray, and between three to six inches long. The Center for Beethoven Studies now has 422 of these hairs. They also have the original locket that Hiller used.
In 1996, some of the hair was tested. The tests showed very high levels of lead in Beethoven's hair. This was 100 times more than normal! This discovery made many people think that lead poisoning might have made Beethoven sick and possibly led to his death.
The story of the lock of hair and what it taught us about Beethoven's health is in a book called Beethoven’s Hair. There was also a TV documentary with the same name.
Musical Instruments
The center has several musical instruments on display. These include an original 1827 Viennese fortepiano. There is also a copy of a 1795 Dulcken fortepiano. A clavichord and a harpsichord are also there. The Dulcken fortepiano copy has 66 keys and can play five octaves. It is a copy of an original instrument kept at the Smithsonian Institution. Visitors are allowed to play the Dulcken fortepiano, the clavichord, and the harpsichord.
See also
- List of music museums
