Anton Schindler
Anton Felix Schindler (13 June 1795 – 16 January 1864) was an associate, secretary, and early biographer of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was born in Medlov, Moravia, and died in Bockenheim (Frankfurt am Main).
Life
He moved to Vienna in 1813 to study law, and from 1817 to 1822, was a clerk in a law office there. He was a competent violinist, and played in musical ensembles, first meeting Beethoven in 1814. He gave up his law career, becoming in 1822 first violinist at the Theater in der Josefstadt and from 1825, first violinist at the Theater am Kärntnertor. His acquaintance with Beethoven had continued, and from 1822, he lived in the composer's house, as his unpaid secretary.
There was a break in the relationship in 1825, and Karl Holz, a young violinist and friend of Beethoven, became Beethoven's secretary; Schindler returned to Beethoven in 1826.
After Beethoven's death in 1827, Schindler moved to Budapest where he was a music teacher, returning to Vienna in 1829. In 1831, he moved to Münster where he was a musical director; from 1835 he lived in Aachen, where he was municipal music director until 1840. In 1840, his biography of Beethoven was published in Münster. Later editions appeared in 1845, 1860 and 1871.
