Anna Maria Erdődy

Countess Anna Maria (Marie) von Erdődy (21 August 1778 – 17 March 1837) was a Hungarian noblewoman and among the closest confidantes and friends of Ludwig van Beethoven. Dedicatee of four of the composer’s late chamber works, she was instrumental in securing Beethoven an annuity from members of the Austrian high nobility. Life She was born Countess von Niczky in Arad, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary, today Romania. On 6 June 1796 she married Count Péter Erdődy of Monyorokerék and Monte Claudio, scion of the noted Erdődy line of the Hungarian/Croatian aristocracy. They had two daughters and a son: Marie, Friederike, and August, affectionately known as Mimi, Fritzi, and Gusti. Marie was instrumental in helping to sway members of the Imperial nobility to granting Beethoven a lifelong annuity in an effort to induce him to remain in Austrian lands in the face of an offer of employment as Kapellmeister in Cassel, from Jérôme, King of Westphalia. Jan Swafford characterizes Beethoven’s real intentions thus: Thayer states, “It seems likely that the suggestion that formal stipulations for a contract be drawn up under which Beethoven would decline the offer from Cassel and remain in Vienn