Greetings from friends of Casa Museo Biblioteca Beethoveniana

Malte Boecker,
Director of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn

The Biblioteca Beethoveniana is arguably the most interesting collection of items related to the reception and impact of Beethoven from the 19th century until now. I had the great pleasure to literally immerse myself in the abundance of items in the collection. I assure you it is one of the most fascinating resources you can imagine and it positions Muggia as one of the hot spots for Beethoven lovers.

Nicole Kämpken,
director of the Museum in Beethoven-Haus Bonn

A few years ago, we were delighted to present parts of the Carrino collection here in our museum. We chose the title „A cabinet of wonder in Italy“ and I promise that is exactly what you feel when you immerse in that marvellous unique family collection.

William Kinderman, pianist and professor, University of California Los Angeles.

The Carrino Collection is a uniquely valuable resource. It sheds fresh light on the astonishing cultural impact of Beethoven’s legacy during the past two centuries. Music lovers and researchers will be dazzled by the holdings of the Biblioteca Beethoveniana, and by the charming and inviting setting of this cultural jewel.

Michael Ladenburger,
Retired Head of the Museum the Collection of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn

The Biblioteca Beethoveniana, a total work of art, opens to the world through an extensive and elaborate online presentation of high visual and creative quality. The Carrino family have conceived and assembled an unparalleled collection – not by following the rules of today’s art market and industry, but through an intimate, vast ambition, empathy and aesthetic sense.

The Carrino Collection and its importance for the preservation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s memory

Beethoven’s music lives on. This fact is less obvious than it seems, and is due first and foremost to Beethoven’s personal and musical resourcefulness and genius. His ethos and life history still make a deep impression today, beyond the objective quality of his works. Already during his lifetime and then up to the present day, this combination has generated a process of social and artistic reception that no other composer has triggered. His work and life have been and still are the subject of numerous detailed research and studies. Similarly, the documents and historical evidence of this reception have over time been recognised as of great value, and have become the objects of collections. There are, for example, large collections of Beethoven’s autographs in Berlin and Bonn. But there is also a unique collection dedicated to Beethoven in Muggia – the Carrino Collection.

Sergio and Giuliana Carrino, then naturally joined by their son Ludovico, have conceived and assembled an unparalleled collection – not by following the rules of today’s art market and industry, but through an intimate, vast ambition, empathy and aesthetic sense. The collection is not locked up in museum archives (nor in bank safes or hidden warehouses): the owners literally live in it. They are surrounded by it, both figuratively and literally, as they are at the same time its center. A few years ago, the Carrinos decided to open their collection to the public, and they have done it in a very special way. They first set up a highly symbolic exhibition in Bonn, Beethoven’s birthplace, followed over the years by numerous other loans and collaborations in other major international art exhibitions. The Carrino family then opened its home to guests, introduced them to the world of Beethoven and his legacy in all the arts, and ‘contaminated’ them with their own enthusiasm. Now, this dissemination activity is strengthened by an extensive and elaborate online presentation of high visual and creative quality.

When the Beethoven Haus in Bonn started digitalising its collection around 25 years ago, we had the hope that other Beethoven collections would follow suit, in particular public libraries, due to their financial and technical possibilities. At that time, I did not have the Muggia collection in mind. However, thanks to their seriousness, their high sense of aesthetics and their special sense of responsibility for their unmistakable contribution to the preservation of Beethoven’s legacy, the Carrino family made this possible: the Biblioteca Beethoveniana, a total work of art, opens to the world. The Carrino collection provides an insight into how Beethoven’s life and work has been expressed, for example, in works of visual art, as well as in areas such as advertising, which sometimes depict Beethoven in a clever and sometimes banal way, as well as in many other areas.

Each of the more than 11,000 items in the collection has been chosen and evaluated meticolously – both at the time of acquisition and in the selection stage for the new virtual presentation. This family of collectors has a vast knowledge that extends to the smallest details of the history and craftsmanship of their objects, and they have a real gift for connecting with each one of them, appraising them in a non-commercial way, to bring them to new life.

Enthusiasm can be contagious. There is no escaping it when visiting the Carrino collection in Muggia, and certainly the accuracy and style of the virtual exhibition will not fail to have its effect either. Connecting people with Beethoven’s life and music is a challenging task. It can only be achieved with the dedication that Sergio, Giuliana and Ludovico Carrino have shown for decades in building, expanding and disseminating their collection. A unique cosmos that has developed its own intrinsic value and, fortunately, continues to radiate.

Michael Ladenburger

(Retired Head of the museum and Curator of the collection of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn)

Colin Lemoine, art historian,
Musée Bourdelle, Parigi

And I will always remember the moment when we entered the Carrino’s house and discovered this Beethovenian iconography filling all the spaces. It was absolutely thrilling. This project will certainly be of major importance for future Beethovenian research.

Julia Ronge,
Head of the Collections in Beethoven-Haus Bonn

The Collections in Beethoven-Haus Bonn and in the Biblioteca Beethoveniana in Muggia complete each other. Beethoven-Haus Bonn frequently calls Muggia if we need items we do not possess ourselves. There is no other place in the world where you can find such huge and various amounts of objects of Beethoven reception. The Biblioteca Beethoveniana is just amazing.

Benedetta Saglietti, music historian, Conservatorio Luca Marenzio, Brescia

I met the Carrino family a few years ago. I was struck above all by their determination, the driving force behind a passionate search that has lasted more than forty years. This digital exhibition is an important step towards enhancing the Carrino Collection, one of the best Beethoven collections in the world.

Letizia Michielon, pianist and music philosopher, Conservatorio Giuseppe Tartini, Trieste

A musical greeting by pianist Letizia Michielon, dedicated to the Casa Museo Biblioteca Beethoveniana in Muggia: performance of the Sonata in F minor op. 57 (“Appassionata”), in the Scuola di San Rocco in Venice. Beethoven’s sublime music in one of the most beautiful places of art in Italy and the world, which houses Tintoretto’s masterpieces.

PROGETTO BEETHOVEN,
Scuola di San Rocco, Venezia

Letizia Michielon, pianist and music philosopher, Conservatorio Giuseppe Tartini, Trieste

The Biblioteca Beethoveniana is a pole of attraction for a vast public, a hub of intercultural and interdisciplinary exchange, and an embodiment of the best of Mitteleuropa culture.

What I would like to emphasise above all is the humanity one feels when entering the Biblioteca Beethoveniana in Muggia. A feeling of welcoming, cordiality, familiarity and friendship that are bestowed on all who enter: it is truly the best embodiment of Beethoven’s principles of friendship and love for humanity.

Highlights

Greetings from friends of Casa Museo Biblioteca Beethoveniana