Algorithms, money, and the lost beat of humanity
I stare into this flickering glass wall, this devil's instrument, called a computer – and in my skull, a turmoil rages, wilder and more impetuous than the mightiest thunderstorm that ever tore the earth's air! It is as if a whole army of light spirits wanted to shatter my hearing with harsh, unpleasant sounds! Once a gulden was an honest piece of metal, heavy in the flat hand, and a bill was solid paper, well authenticated with ink and seal. But what is this dazzling spook here?
Your internet – a witch's cauldron full of vain abstractions! I look into these financial places, and my whole spirit rears up! Everything is rushing! It is a cosmic rush, yes – but where the devil are the pipes and strings of this world organ? I am told everything follows a fixed time measure, but I only see frantic haste!
This Maelzel's metronome, which was once so dear to me to tame the spirit of my works – here in these markets, it strikes a tempo that no human heart can grasp anymore! A presto, so relentless and cold, that the pendulum beats fall on the seconds like axe blows. It is a beat without song, a rhythm of pure greed!
Understand me well: I am no novice in the matters of capital! I know the value of bank shares, I know how a bond yields interest, and what a mortgage guarantees in security. These were my silent guardians against need, firmly set like a well-placed joint! But what are these hollow specters compared to them, which they call E.T.F.s? A whole bundle of trading houses forged together in a single name - like a musical chaos in which all sentences are thrown into the listener's throat at oncethrows!
And what, in the name of the Almighty, is an algorithm? An invisible, cold-hearted taskmaster, who swings the metronome of world finance without a soul and decides whether a man is a prince or a beggar? I read about crypto coins that cannot be heard jingling! Is this still proper trade or already the black magic of the alchemists? It's as if one wanted to make a diminished chord that consists only of cold ether! Had I known back then that one could hurl one's capital across the oceans at the speed of a lightning bolt! I would no longer have been a supplicant, a slave to the capricious aristocracy. But this pace confuses me! A tap on the glass – and won? A second – and everything plunged into the abyss of annihilation? Is fate now a lackey of these flickering lines?
But listen well: I will not bow! I will study these digital hieroglyphs until I force their godforsaken pulse. If money now consists of light and haste, I will learn to tame this light! Woe to the broker who thinks he can deceive old Beethoven with his derivatives and options! I recognize a false note on the spot, whether it is written on old parchment or glowing on this cursed glass! I remain who I am: unyielding in spirit – and now on the huntfor the strike of the new gold!
But tell me, you people of today: If you only look for your happiness in numbers that dance like will-o'-the-wisps on glass - where is there still room for a melody that can really move the soul? Are you still masters of your fate, or already slaves to a beat that no one conducts anymore?
L. v. Beethoven
Background & Facts: Beethoven and money
The savvy investor: Beethoven was by no means unworldly or commercially naive. He knew financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and Pfandbriefe well and used them wisely for personal security. He learned early on that artistic independence required economic independence.
The Secret of Fortune: Despite his frequent complaints about financial worries, Beethoven left a considerable fortune of around 10,000 guilders at his death in 1827 - a sum that equaled middle-class wealth at the time. In addition to the seven shares of the Austrian National Bank, his estate included bonds, cash reserves, precious metals, as well as claims against publishers and patrons. He kept his true wealth strictly hidden, out of tactical calculation, especially during negotiations with publishers likeArtaria or Breitkopf & Härtel.
Sources of income: Beethoven's income came from several channels: publishing rights and dedication payments, concert fees, honors from the nobility (Archduke Rudolph, Prince Kinsky, Prince Lobkowitz), donations, as well as a small private pension. Later, royalties from the sale of performance rights were added. His ability to earn multiple times from existing works – such as adaptations and new editions – shows commercial insight.
Hard negotiations: With publishers, Beethoven fought tenaciously for the highest possible advances, printing permissions, and exclusive rights. His correspondence with Peters, Haslinger, and Schott illustrates an impressive self-confidence; he was considered a difficult but respected business partner who knew how to realistically assess the artistic value of his work.
The metronome and the rhythm of the world: As one of the first and most passionate advocates of Maelzel's metronome, Beethoven was almost obsessed with fixing his musical pulse. This striving for exact timing reflects his inner desire to tame the chaos of the external world. In today's analogy – the high-frequency trading of financial markets – one would probably recognize in this incessant presto the mechanical frenzy that would have both fascinated and outraged him.
Man and capital: Beethoven's relationship with money remained ambivalent: he despised purchasable art, yet he fought with sharp reasoning for the artist to be recognized not as a dependent court musician but as an independent entrepreneur. In this sense, he was one of the first modern artists to link intellectual value with economic self-determination.
