Bettine von Arnim (1785 - 1859)

Well known in the political and artistic circles of nineteenth century Germany, Bettine von Arnim was accomplished as a writer and a composer. She counted both Beethoven and Goethe among her close friends, and arranged and published her correspondence with Goethe. Though only one volume of Bettine's songs was published during her lifetime, she was passionately devoted to music, at one point defining music as ". . . the voice of the soul, through which the material becomes spiritual."