Not long after the birth of Beethoven in 1770 the family moved to the house of the Fischer family in the Rheingasse, Bonn. The exact date of the move is unknown. The Beethovens occupied the upper floor, under them the Fischers lived and operated their business, a bakery.
It happened many years later that a middle-aged local musician and composer named Stommb became insane. At least this was the impression of the local people. He stopped speaking altogether and had the habit of wandering across the town with a conductor’s wand in his right hand and music scores in the other. One can imagine he was also conducting on the go…
During his imaginary concerts he would visit Rheingasse and the Fischer house. In such occasions he would strike the table with his wand and point upward to the Beethovens, then keep on conducting. Upon leaving he would point once again to their window and continue his walk.
Cäcilie Fischer was deeply disturbed by the fact that the wandering fool entered only their house. Young Beethoven saw the humor in it and said, “We can see by that how it goes with musicians; music has already made this one mad – what may happen to us?”
One can only wonder about the old observation that children and fools always tell the truth. Maybe this Stommb fellow saw the future and the bright career Beethoven was to achieve…
