Poor Beethoven had a formidable adversary all his life: his own health. Among the many-many symptoms and illnesses he had, one sticks out as especially scary. In 1807 he wrote his playwright friend Heinrich Collin, “My colic is better, but my poor finger had to undergo a drastic nail operation. When I wrote to you yesterday it looked very angry. …
They say you should never meet your hero in person. Ignaz Moscheles did and still remained a fan. How did it happen? Who was Ignaz Moscheles? Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (23 May 1794– 10 March 1870) was a composer and piano virtuoso from Bohemia. He was born in Prague into a German speaking Jewish family. His father was a merchant, …
Beethoven was blessed to have many excellent teachers and mentors, but nobody was so influential in his life than Christian Neefe. Who was Christian Gottlob Neefe? Christian Gottlob Neefe (5 February 1748 – 28 January 1798) was a German musician and composer, who also was a writer. Neefe was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, into a poor family. His musical talent …
Beethoven was talented, but talent alone was not enough to win the heart of Vienna. He was blessed with dedicated patrons and one of them was Baron van Swieten. Who was Gottfried van Swieten? He was born as Godefridus Bernardus “Godfried” van Swieten (29 October 1733 Leiden – 29 March 1803 Vienna) in Leiden, the Dutch Republic. The family lived …
Who was Franz Clement? Franz Joseph Clement (November 17, 1780 Vienna – November 3, 1842 Vienna) was an Austrian violinist and composer, director and concertmaster of the Theater an der Wien. Young Franz played the violin since the age of four. His main teacher was his father who was a butler for a nobleman and a member of his house …
They say, what Kant was to philosophy, it was Goethe to letters and Beethoven in music. Sometimes expectations are exceeding reality and not every acquaintance is for the eternity. Who was Goethe? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was, mainly, a German poet and novelist. He was also a genius, who worked on several other …