One day Beethoven’s pupil (and friend) Ferdinand Ries showed up at Beethoven’s residence during his summer break in Baden. As he entered the room he found him sitting on the sofa with an attractive young lady. Ries thought to leave and give them privacy, but Beethoven asked him to stay and play something. He played a number of pieces from …
With enough certainty we know that on his deathbed Beethoven had with him some books from Plutarch, Homer, Ovid and Epictetus. In this article we will discover who was Epictetus and how he – and stoic philosophy in general – influenced his approach to emotions. Who was Epictetus? Epictetus was a Greek philosopher born around 50 AD in Phrygia (today …
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 …