Franz Gerhard Wegeler (22 August 1765 – 7 May 1848) was a childhood friend of Beethoven, someone important to him all his life. Despite their geographical distance and significant gaps in their intimate correspondence, Wegeler always remained a confidant and a reminder of their shared values learned in their youth, in Bonn. It is safe to say, Franz Wegeler was …
This is a biography of Ludwig van Beethoven the elder, grandfather of the famous composer, who was named after his grandpa. Both were talented musicians, but the grandchild is the one, who became a wonder of the World. The first documented Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1712 in the town of Malines, or Mechelen, duchy of Brabant. This is …
Did Beethoven drink coffee? What is Viennese-style coffee house? How and when all this coffee madness started? Continue reading this article and find out! History of Viennese coffee house culture Although Vienna was not the first city in Europe to have a coffee house, yet Viennese coffee culture was outstanding and very influential. North-Africa and the Middle-East already had …
We continue our series of articles in which we learn about Beethoven’s deafness. We have already seen in an earlier piece that Beethoven was not born deaf, but later became one. This article investigates if he was deaf in both ears or just one. Beethoven was not born deaf, but lost his hearing continuously from about the age of 27, …
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 …