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 …
From childhood Beethoven always had a sketchbook in his pocket. He used them to pen down musical ideas right as they came to him. Even though the handwriting is messy and sometimes indecipherable these books became the holy grail to his admirers. Especially the famous Landsberg 6! In 1803 Beethoven realized his old sketchbook is getting full and went …
Beethoven was seventeen when he met Count Waldstein in Bonn and already had admirers in the city, but no one came close to the influential, generous and musically sophisticated Waldstein. This article reveals how the Count influenced the fate of Beethoven. A short biography of Count Waldstein Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein was born in Vienna in 1762 …