Born in Bonn where he began his musical career, the young man soon moved to Vienna. Beethoven lived here for 35 years, and as soon as you enter the room, you’ll see from the display to your right, that he moved no less than 67 times during this period. Therefore, on average, he rarely stayed in one place for longer than six months: primarily because it was common to move from the stuffy city to the countryside during midsummer, but also because Beethoven was anything but a pleasant neighbour. For example, when he felt uncomfortably hot after exhaustively composing, he habitually poured a bucket of cold water over his head while standing in the middle of his apartment – which somewhat displeased the tennants living underneath. Beethoven was stubborn, short-tempered and above all noisy. At the age of just 24, the first signs of his hearing-loss became noticeable, making him grow even louder as he got older: the increasingly deaf Beethoven struck the keys with all his might, but heard nothing…

For the last nine years of his life he was completely deaf, yet still composed works such as his Symphony No. 9, his last Piano Sonata, Op. 111, and the famous “Missa Solemnis” in D major, Op. 123.

The tragedy of Beethoven’s illness is illustrated by the “Heiligenstädter Testament” which you can see on the wall in the middle of this room. Putting his innermost despair on paper clearly helped him deal with it, as shown by the productive creative period that followed. He wrote his cheerful Symphony No. 2, “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 the following year, and continued to work on his only opera, “Fidelio”.

Beethoven was a sympathiser of the French Revolution and regarded the young Napoleon Bonaparte as a hero, freeing the people from aristocratic oppression. He subsequently dedicated “Eroica” to him, otherwise known as the “Heroic Symphony”. When the Corsican proclaimed himself Emperor in 1804, Beethoven felt betrayed and crossed out the dedication so firmly that he tore a hole in the document, as you can see from the facsimile hanging to your left, next to the picture Napoleon. Thereupon, he dedicated the Symphony to one of his greatest patrons, Count Lobkowitz, who is pictured in the portrait to the right of Napoleon. Interestingly, Beethoven had no problem with aristocratic benefactors financing his livelihood, despite his critical attitude towards the upper classes. He even secured a handsome annuity from Archduke Rudolf, Count Lobkowitz and Count Kinsky, all of whom feared losing him to the court of Napoleon’s (!) brother.
Beethoven lived at a time of social upheaval which he also embodied: art shifted from the nobility to the bourgeoisie, seeking freedom and liberation – it’s precisely these values that our composer embraces in his work, and also the reason why love and justice triumph over arbitrary tyranny in „Fidelio“.

In his early years, Beethoven was known as an outstanding pianist, before making a name for himself as a composer. Unsurprisingly, piano music plays a central role in his work. He wrote a total of 32 piano sonatas, including “Appassionata”, “Pathetique” and “Moonlight Sonata”. The Broadwood square piano exhibited here symbolises his emerging virtuosity, as well as pairing perfectly, in form and design, with his sophisticated works.

Due to his work as a pianist and music teacher, Beethoven often had access to the noble households, where he frequently fell in love with the daughter of the house – unfortunately, mostly without success. He was not of noble stock, so marriage was out of the question. Despite the love affairs being unhappy, Beethoven still dedicated a few pieces of music to these women – which remain extremely popular until today. The “Für Elise” (W.o.O. 59) album sheet, for example, was probably dedicated to Therese Malfatti (1792-1851). But it could also have been intended for the singer Elisabeth Röckel. To this day, scientists are debating who this famous “Elise” could have been….