The Heiligenstadt Testament is Beethoven’s famous letter he wrote to his brothers in 1802. In the letter the composer puts on paper his frustration with his growing hearing problem, at the same time attributing his gradual withdrawal from people to this illness. In the letter he also plays with the idea of suicide. The Heiligenstadt Testament marks the turning point …
Count Razumovsky (Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky) was a Russian nobleman and ambassador in Vienna who was born in 1752 and died in 1836. He was one of the chief negotiators during the Congress of Vienna (where empires shaped the future of Europe after Napoleon; 1814-1815) representing Russian interests. Apart from his political career he was, more importantly, a music lover and …
It is a well-known fact about Beethoven that he was an emotional, erratic man. Many times he made his decisions that way. What did it take, however, for Beethoven to make an extraordinary and radical decision about his father: to exile him from Bonn! Johann van Beethoven was not a good father. As we have written in many other articles, …
Among the many myths surrounding Beethoven one of the interesting ones is about his African origin. Does Beethoven have African roots? Let us find out! Beethoven’s African ancestry. Is this a relevant question? It depends. Was Beethoven black? No! Was his skin darker in any way? Yes! Did he have African origins? Yes, as we all do! According to …
There are not many controversial figures in Beethoven’s life comparable to Anton Schindler. Probably Johanna van Beethoven, wife of his brother Karl, with whom Beethoven had legal and emotional battles over the custody of his nephew. Schindler forged history, destroyed evidence and based a career on the short relationship he had with Beethoven. Who was Anton Schindler? Anton Felix …
We continue our series on musical influencers in Beethoven’s life. Next in line is no less than Mozart himself! From his childhood everybody wanted him to be a Mozart! How did this expectation influence his life? There is a very popular anecdote about the young Beethoven visiting Vienna for the first time, and being introduced to the supreme Master, even …