WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are going straight 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:05.080 to the sources today, focusing on a figure whose 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:07.919 name is, well, it's synonymous with sheer creative 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:11.259 force. But his life was arguably one of the messiest, 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:14.880 most anguished, and just chaotic of any great 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.260 master. We are diving deep into Ludwig von Beethoven. 00:00:18.539 --> 00:00:20.300 And when we talk about Beethoven, we're really 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.420 talking about a hinge point in music history. 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.719 He is the pivotal figure. The one who connects 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:28.649 it all. Exactly. He takes the, you know, the 00:00:28.649 --> 00:00:30.530 formal perfection and discipline of the classical 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:32.570 era, the world of his teachers, Haydn and Mozart, 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:36.070 and then just fueled by this intense personal 00:00:36.070 --> 00:00:40.189 suffering and a terrifying determination, he 00:00:40.189 --> 00:00:42.909 launches music headlong into romanticism. That 00:00:42.909 --> 00:00:44.729 is the core mission today, isn't it? We're not 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:47.390 just tracing a biography. We're using the extensive 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:49.729 research you provided to track the war that Beethoven 00:00:49.729 --> 00:00:52.350 waged against his own fate. Our sources cover 00:00:52.350 --> 00:00:54.950 his entire life, from his baptism in Bonn, December 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:58.009 17, 1770, all the way through to his death on 00:00:58.009 --> 00:01:01.710 March 26, 1827. He was only 56. And a roadmap 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:03.670 for this is that established three -period structure 00:01:03.670 --> 00:01:06.170 of his genius. The early, middle, and late phases. 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.280 Right. Because that framework lets us see so 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.099 clearly how the critical turning points in his 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:15.280 life, his move to Vienna, the crippling onset 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.019 of deafness, and then those final years of just 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:20.599 monumental introspection, they didn't just happen 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:22.920 around his music. No, they drove it. They drove 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.459 its radical evolution. He was a composer and, 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:30.290 critically, a virtuoso pianist. Well, until fate 00:01:30.290 --> 00:01:32.510 stole his primary tool, we're going to track 00:01:32.510 --> 00:01:34.730 the triumphs and the total collapses. Okay, so 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:37.370 let's unpack this chaotic beginning in Bonn, 00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:40.370 a town that now, of course, proudly houses the 00:01:40.370 --> 00:01:43.689 Beethoven House Museum. The sources immediately 00:01:43.689 --> 00:01:47.230 introduce this huge element of complexity, this 00:01:47.230 --> 00:01:50.629 shadow of his illustrious grandfather. You really 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:52.329 have to start with the grandfather, also named 00:01:52.329 --> 00:01:54.030 Ludwig van Beethoven. He set the professional 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:56.150 standard. He was the benchmark. He was the benchmark. 00:01:56.250 --> 00:01:58.769 Highly successful, served as the cop. Koppelmeister, 00:01:58.870 --> 00:02:01.629 that's the principal music director, and a respected 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:04.430 bass singer in Bonn. He'd moved there from Mechelen, 00:02:04.609 --> 00:02:06.590 which is in modern -day Belgium. This was high 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:10.129 society, and the sources emphasize that the grandfather's 00:02:10.129 --> 00:02:13.030 portrait was a literal talisman for the composer. 00:02:13.610 --> 00:02:16.509 He kept it his whole life, this constant reminder 00:02:16.509 --> 00:02:19.270 of the musical pedigree he was expected to uphold. 00:02:19.569 --> 00:02:22.370 A standard his own father couldn't meet. Utterly 00:02:22.370 --> 00:02:24.819 failed to meet. And that leads us right to his 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:27.800 father, Johan, a tenor, who provided Ludwig's 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.539 first music tuition. And the accounts make it 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:33.020 sound less like instruction and more like sheer 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:35.159 domestic abuse. Oh, harsh doesn't even begin 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.180 to cover it. The tuition was relentless, starting 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:41.139 when Lusig was tiny. Johan was focused on exploitation. 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:44.180 He was just desperate to replicate the financial 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:46.960 success Leopold Mozart had with Wolfgang. So 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.060 it was all about money. All about money. The 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:51.360 training was so intensive, often with these irregular 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:53.560 late -night sessions where the young Beethoven 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:55.659 was literally dragged out of bed to practice. 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:58.280 The sources say it routinely reduced the young 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:01.960 boy to tears. It was, to put it mildly, a trauma 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.699 -informed education. And Johann's ambition, it 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:07.039 even extended to outright lying, didn't it? The 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.719 whole child prodigy narrative required some fudging 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:13.039 of the numbers. He absolutely fudged them. For 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:15.240 Ludwig's first public performance in March of 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:18.310 1778, his father claimed that boy was six years 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:20.449 old. When he was really seven. He was seven. 00:03:20.569 --> 00:03:23.509 It was just his early desperate attempt to market 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:26.490 him. And this pressure, this attempt to force 00:03:26.490 --> 00:03:29.210 genius, it's in such stark opposition to the 00:03:29.210 --> 00:03:31.650 self -driven mastery Beethoven eventually achieved. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.539 What really stands out to me in the sources as 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:37.400 a truly jaw -dropping nugget is the contradiction 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.159 between his musical ability and, well, his basic 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:42.900 academic skills. It's incredible. A musical genius 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:45.400 who is completely inept at math. It speaks volumes 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:48.300 about how specialized genius can be. The sources 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:51.520 confirm it. His musical capabilities just far 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.360 outstripped his math skills. He went to a Latin 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.000 preparatory school, learned basic addition, but 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:58.840 he never mastered division or multiplication. 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.000 So how did he manage? Well, for instance, if 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.289 he needed to multiply, say... 16 by 7. He couldn't 00:04:05.289 --> 00:04:06.849 use a multiplication table. He had to perform 00:04:06.849 --> 00:04:09.229 the calculation by literally adding up columns 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:12.189 of numbers. He'd add 7 together 16 times. You're 00:04:12.189 --> 00:04:14.430 kidding. He used this column addition method 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:17.930 to simulate multiplication his entire adult life. 00:04:18.129 --> 00:04:20.329 It's a fascinating mental shortcut that just 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:23.350 reveals a complete lack of aptitude for abstract 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:26.569 numbers outside of music. That detail really 00:04:26.569 --> 00:04:29.720 grounds the legend, doesn't it? Moving into his 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:31.920 teenage years, some real professional guidance 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.439 finally arrives with Christian Gottlob Nieff. 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:37.240 Nieff was the first true structural influence, 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.600 starting around 1780. He saw the boy's talent 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.040 and became his most important composition teacher 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.139 in Bonn. And crucially, Nieff gave him a professional 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:48.959 start. Right. He used his connections to publish 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:52.079 Beethoven's first work in 1783, a set of keyboard 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:54.240 variations. And Nieff quickly put him to work, 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:56.519 I gather. Oh, yes. Beethoven served as Nieff's 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:59.040 assistant organist for the Court Chapel. Unpaid 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.779 at first in 1782, but then he started getting 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:05.019 a salary in 1784. This exposed him to the refined 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:07.259 tastes and repertoire of the court, giving him 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:09.199 the grounding he desperately needed. But the 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:11.579 real personal salvation, it came from outside 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:13.620 the music world with the von Breuning family. 00:05:14.019 --> 00:05:16.579 They were his refuge. The von Breunings were 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:19.360 an upper -class, educated family who saw the 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.480 desperate situation at home with his father Johan 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.920 just sinking further and further into alcoholism. 00:05:26.219 --> 00:05:29.199 The widowed mother, Helene von Breuning, she 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.199 effectively became a second mother to him. She 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:34.399 offered the emotional stability and moral compass 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:36.779 that was just completely absent in his own home. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.120 And it sounds like they offered him more than 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:40.959 just emotional support. They taught him how to 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.879 function in society. They really did. They taught 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.180 him refined manners. They nurtured his interest 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:48.579 in literature and intellectual pursuits, things 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:51.560 Johan could never provide. They gave him an entry 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:55.350 into the cultural world of Bon's elite. And through 00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:58.829 them, he met critical patrons. Like Count Ferdinand 00:05:58.829 --> 00:06:01.389 von Waldstein. Waldstein was essential. He was 00:06:01.389 --> 00:06:03.189 a friend and a financial supporter who believed 00:06:03.189 --> 00:06:05.730 absolutely in Beethoven's future. He's the one 00:06:05.730 --> 00:06:07.470 who commissioned Beethoven's first work for the 00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:11.550 stage, a ballet, in 1791. These aristocratic 00:06:11.550 --> 00:06:13.449 connections were the scaffolding that let him 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:16.089 climb from court musician in Bonn to independent 00:06:16.089 --> 00:06:18.660 artist in Vienna. And the path to Vienna wasn't 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:21.480 just artistic ambition, was it? It was also driven 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:25.160 by this stark family crisis. His father's alcoholism 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.040 forced him into a provider role. It was a brutal 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:31.319 maturity. When his mother died in July 1787, 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:35.860 the decline just accelerated. By 1789, the court 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:39.019 had to intervene, recognizing Johann's incapacity. 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:41.459 Wow. They ordered that half of his court pension 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.139 be paid directly to Ludwig so he could support 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:46.839 his two younger brothers. So at just 18, he's 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:48.600 the head of the household. The head of the household, 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.379 supplementing this income by teaching and playing 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.399 viola in the court orchestra, which ironically 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.139 was valuable exposure. He was encountering works 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.779 by Gluck and Mozart there. The stage was set 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:01.720 for his departure, but the final confirmation 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.259 came through a meeting with Joseph Hayden. Yes. 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:07.740 Hayden passed through Bonn twice, once in late 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:11.160 1790 and then critically in July 1792 on his 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:13.740 return from London. And it was during that second 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:16.300 stop that the arrangements were finalized. Beethoven 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:18.620 would go to Vienna, the musical capital, and 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:20.560 study with the world's greatest living composer. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.319 And that leads us to Count Waldstein's quote. 00:07:23.459 --> 00:07:26.199 It's the ultimate summary of the promise and 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:28.319 the pressure of this move. It's one of the most 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:31.899 profound quotes in music history. Waldstein knew 00:07:31.899 --> 00:07:34.060 the legacy Beethoven was about to inherit, and 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:37.189 he told him. You are going to Vienna in fulfillment 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:40.209 of your long frustrated wishes. With the help 00:07:40.209 --> 00:07:42.649 of assiduous labor, you shall receive Mozart's 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:45.089 spirit from Haydn's hands. That was his mission. 00:07:45.310 --> 00:07:47.490 That was his mission. He left Bonn in November 00:07:47.490 --> 00:07:51.889 1792. And his father died shortly after, closing 00:07:51.889 --> 00:07:54.509 that incredibly difficult chapter permanently. 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:58.189 So Beethoven arrives in Vienna, a city just buzzing 00:07:58.189 --> 00:08:00.589 with musical talent and aristocratic support. 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:02.670 But it's also under the shadow of the French 00:08:02.670 --> 00:08:05.180 Revolutionary Wars. And the first thing he does 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:08.420 is, surprisingly, very disciplined. He commits 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:11.360 to study, not immediate composition. And that 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:14.220 decision just underscores his ambition. He knew 00:08:14.220 --> 00:08:16.360 he was talented, but he respected the structure 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:18.779 of the Viennese style too much to just burst 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:20.980 onto the scene. He devoted himself to study, 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:23.860 working diligently under Hayden to master counterpoint. 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:26.019 But Hayden was a bit distracted at the time. 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:28.959 He was. Haydn was often busy with his trips to 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.220 England, so Beethoven sought out supplementary 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:33.519 instruction. He was very proactive. So who were 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.559 these other tutors who helped him master the 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:37.559 craft? Well, there was Johann Albrechtsberger, 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.419 a respected contrapuntalist who taught him thorough 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:43.759 bass and fugue. And fascinatingly, he studied 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.320 Italian vocal composition with Antonio Salieri. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:49.259 The Salieri? Yes, the historical figure often 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:52.279 unfairly pitted against Mozart. And this instruction 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.940 from Salieri. Focusing on setting Italian texts 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:58.200 and lyrical line, it lasted until at least 1802. 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:01.480 He was just soaking up the entire musical ecosystem 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:03.779 of Vienna. So he was building his compositional 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:05.620 muscle in private, but his public reputation 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:08.059 was being forged in the noble salons, not the 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:10.639 concert halls. Precisely. His reputation was 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.500 established first as a virtuoso pianist and an 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:17.299 unparalleled improviser. The Viennese noble salons, 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.240 the private homes of the aristocracy, that was 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.710 his stage. And he quickly attracted powerful 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:24.809 early patrons like Prince Karl Lichnowsky and 00:09:24.809 --> 00:09:27.230 Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowitz. These were the 00:09:27.230 --> 00:09:29.049 men who could support him financially and socially. 00:09:29.330 --> 00:09:32.549 And the competitive nature of Vienna meant these 00:09:32.549 --> 00:09:34.629 performances often turned into something like 00:09:34.629 --> 00:09:37.429 musical sporting events, these notorious piano 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:40.490 duels. The duels were legendary. It was how you 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:43.389 proved your dominance. The sources detail him 00:09:43.389 --> 00:09:46.629 winning a huge confrontation in 1799 against 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:49.159 Joseph Wohlfuhl. And Wolfel was known for his 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:52.159 technique. Pure virtuosity. Yeah. But Beethoven 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.480 countered him with this incredible depth and 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.340 complexity in his improvisations. Then he did 00:09:57.340 --> 00:09:59.120 the same thing to Daniel Steibelt the next year. 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:02.100 So before the world knew the tormented composer. 00:10:02.830 --> 00:10:05.409 They knew the unstoppable athletic performer. 00:10:05.669 --> 00:10:07.990 He was the musical athlete, yes. And he was also 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:10.070 strategically holding back his compositions. 00:10:10.509 --> 00:10:12.769 He understood that work should be presented when 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:15.129 they could have the maximum impact. This period 00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:18.250 formally launches in 1795 with the publication 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:20.990 of his first works assigned an opus number, The 00:10:20.990 --> 00:10:23.909 Three Piano Trios. Opus one. And this opus one 00:10:23.909 --> 00:10:26.509 was a huge professional statement and a massive 00:10:26.509 --> 00:10:28.710 financial success. The financial success was 00:10:28.710 --> 00:10:30.570 staggering. It just speaks volumes about his 00:10:30.570 --> 00:10:33.070 marketability. The profit generated from those 00:10:33.070 --> 00:10:35.529 three trios alone was nearly sufficient to cover 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:38.429 his living expenses for an entire year. For a 00:10:38.429 --> 00:10:40.710 whole year. Yeah, he's financially independent, 00:10:40.929 --> 00:10:43.429 not tied to court servitude like his predecessors. 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:45.929 And that independence, it allowed him to push 00:10:45.929 --> 00:10:48.590 the boundaries of what was expected in the Viennese 00:10:48.590 --> 00:10:51.370 style. What are the key musical markers of this 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:54.169 transition? We see him moving from apprentice 00:10:54.169 --> 00:10:58.610 to master by 1799, specifically with the publication 00:10:58.610 --> 00:11:01.230 of his eighth piano sonata, the Pathétique. Op. 00:11:01.269 --> 00:11:04.769 13. Op. 13. This work marked a major turning 00:11:04.769 --> 00:11:07.350 point. Musicologists used this powerful language 00:11:07.350 --> 00:11:09.690 to describe it, saying it surpassed all his prior 00:11:09.690 --> 00:11:12.129 compositions in strength of character, depth 00:11:12.129 --> 00:11:14.490 of emotion, level of originality, and ingenuity. 00:11:14.669 --> 00:11:16.529 So he's taking the classical sonata form and 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:19.529 just injecting it with this raw, dramatic intensity. 00:11:19.929 --> 00:11:22.320 An intensity that was entirely new. Very title, 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:24.460 Pathétique, you know, evocative of suffering 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.480 or passion. It signals a romantic intent. And 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:30.080 the scale of his ambition just kept growing. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.139 He moved from piano works to tackling the highest 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:35.559 form of musical expression, the symphony. In 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.500 1800, he premiered his first major orchestral 00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:40.860 work, the First Symphony. This premier concert 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:44.519 on April 2nd was extensive. It was a marathon 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:47.480 of music. It had works by Haydn and Mozart, his 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.519 own subtet, a piano concerto, and the new symphony. 00:11:51.290 --> 00:11:53.909 It was meant to be his official coronation in 00:11:53.909 --> 00:11:55.870 the symphonic realm. But the sources indicate 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:58.269 that, despite all the artistic ambition, the 00:11:58.269 --> 00:12:00.549 practical management was still chaotic, and that 00:12:00.549 --> 00:12:02.629 would become a theme throughout his career. Absolutely. 00:12:02.830 --> 00:12:05.850 Yet the organization was often poor. While critics 00:12:05.850 --> 00:12:08.309 lauded it as the most interesting concert in 00:12:08.309 --> 00:12:10.789 a long time, there were clear technical failures. 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:14.210 The sources contained specific criticism that 00:12:14.210 --> 00:12:16.490 the players did not bother to pay any attention 00:12:16.490 --> 00:12:19.240 to the soloist. Wow. Which indicates a lack of 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:21.419 rehearsal discipline and maybe Beethoven's demanding, 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:24.120 sometimes erratic style in front of an orchestra. 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:26.259 Professionally, he was reaching an unprecedented 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:29.700 peak by 1801, sought after by every major publisher 00:12:29.700 --> 00:12:32.659 and patron. But then his personal life became 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:35.720 complicated. High society romance and the terrible 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:38.279 onset of illness. The romances of this period 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:40.759 were passionate, but ultimately doomed by the 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:44.259 class system. In 1799, he met the Brunswick family 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:46.720 and fell intensely for the younger daughter, 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:51.240 Josephine. Then, in late 1801, he met Julie Bouchardy. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:54.000 He confessed his love for her, but marriage was 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.179 impossible. Because of the social distinctions. 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:59.279 He was famous, but he wasn't nobility. Exactly. 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:02.059 So he channeled that doomed love into music, 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.399 giving us one of his most recognized pieces. 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:07.539 The Moonlight Sonata. Yes. He dedicated the Piano 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:11.340 Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 to Julie Bouchardy in 1802. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:13.960 It's important to remember he didn't name it 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.899 the Moonlight. That name came years later from 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:19.019 a critic. But the intense, almost improvisatory 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:21.659 emotion of that first movement is certainly a 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:23.820 reflection of that thwarted passion. And while 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.000 he's dealing with the agony of unattainable love, 00:13:26.259 --> 00:13:29.360 a far deeper physical agony begins to manifest, 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.220 his hearing loss. The symptoms of profound hearing 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:35.700 loss and severe tinnitus began around 1798. He 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:37.659 started writing about his difficulties in 1801, 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:40.120 detailing the professional shame and the social 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:42.259 difficulties it imposed on him. What do the sources 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:45.620 say about the cause? It's complex. Possibilities 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:47.840 include otosclerosis, where the bones in the 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.500 middle ear harden, degeneration of the auditory 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:52.860 nerve, maybe infectious diseases. And there's 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:55.059 also the modern speculation about lead poisoning. 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.059 That's right. Later analysis of his hair has 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:00.879 shown high concentrations of lead. Now, this 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.440 complicates the exact cause of death, but it 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:05.559 certainly suggests he suffered from chronic lead 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:09.039 exposure, possibly from his wine or from treatments 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.679 administered by his doctors. And that could have 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.110 contributed to the auditory nerve issues. So 00:14:14.110 --> 00:14:16.250 regardless of the clinical origin, the effect 00:14:16.250 --> 00:14:18.529 was devastating. This wasn't just a physical 00:14:18.529 --> 00:14:20.929 ailment. It was an existential threat to his 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:23.210 livelihood, his identity, and his ability to 00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:25.509 communicate. Right. And it leads directly to 00:14:25.509 --> 00:14:28.269 the ultimate crisis of his early career. This 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:31.370 is the middle period. The crisis, the heroism, 00:14:31.409 --> 00:14:34.210 and the great shift. This period is defined by 00:14:34.210 --> 00:14:37.250 a single, powerful resolution. Beethoven faced 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:39.889 the loss of everything and chose to fight. And 00:14:39.889 --> 00:14:41.950 that established the foundation of the heroic 00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:44.649 musical style. that resolution is immortalized 00:14:44.649 --> 00:14:47.169 in the heiligenstadt testament can you walk us 00:14:47.169 --> 00:14:50.470 through that pivotal year of 1802 he was desperate 00:14:50.470 --> 00:14:53.049 on his doctor's advice he retreated to the small 00:14:53.049 --> 00:14:55.830 town of heiligenstadt just outside vienna hoping 00:14:55.830 --> 00:14:58.250 the quiet would help his hearing it didn't it 00:14:58.250 --> 00:15:01.190 did the opposite the isolation just intensified 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:04.009 his despair and there he wrote the testament 00:15:04.009 --> 00:15:07.769 this raw unsent letter to his brothers. In it, 00:15:07.789 --> 00:15:10.549 he confessed his suicidal thoughts, his agony 00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:12.789 over the shame of his deafness and his total 00:15:12.789 --> 00:15:15.350 social withdrawal. So what saved him? What was 00:15:15.350 --> 00:15:17.269 the ultimate conclusion of that document? The 00:15:17.269 --> 00:15:20.649 sheer force of his artistic will saved him. He 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:23.009 concluded that he had to live for his art, that 00:15:23.009 --> 00:15:24.970 the world needed the music that was trapped inside 00:15:24.970 --> 00:15:27.649 him. This determination, which he reportedly 00:15:27.649 --> 00:15:29.570 expressed to a friend when he got back to Vienna, 00:15:29.769 --> 00:15:33.620 was his vow. To seize fate by the throat, it 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:35.860 shall certainly not crush me completely. That 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:38.519 is the foundational mindset of the heroic period. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:41.279 It is. He returned to Vienna a man fundamentally 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.740 changed, and that change manifested immediately 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.480 in his music. This is the birth of the heroic 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.960 style. Absolutely. The transformation was explicit. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:52.320 Beethoven told his student Czerny, I am not satisfied 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:54.620 with the work I have done so far. From now on, 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:57.259 I intend to take a new way. A new way. And this 00:15:57.259 --> 00:15:59.879 new way was characterized by composition on a 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:03.120 truly grand scale, embracing drama, struggle, 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:06.600 and triumphal expression. This period gives us 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.440 symphonies number three through eight, the Archduke 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.539 Trio, and his opera Fidelio. The prototype of 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:15.000 this new grand scale is, of course, the third 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.620 symphony, the Eroica. It's almost double the 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:20.039 length of any previous symphony. How did that 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.580 shock his contemporaries? The Eroica was monumental. 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:25.210 Where a Hayden or a Mozart symphony might run 00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:28.090 20 to 30 minutes, the Eroica stretched past 45. 00:16:28.649 --> 00:16:31.330 Its first movement alone was longer than many 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:34.070 entire classical symphonies. Critics were just 00:16:34.070 --> 00:16:35.850 baffled. They didn't know what to make of it. 00:16:35.970 --> 00:16:37.870 They complained about the complexity, the lengths. 00:16:37.909 --> 00:16:40.909 They demanded it be cut. But its sheer size was 00:16:40.909 --> 00:16:43.129 deliberate. It allowed for this unprecedented 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:45.350 thematic development and dramatic depth. And 00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:47.029 the political drama surrounding its dedication 00:16:47.029 --> 00:16:49.129 is equally famous. Oh, the political context 00:16:49.129 --> 00:16:51.269 is everything. Beethoven originally titled it 00:16:51.269 --> 00:16:54.210 Bonaparte. He deeply admired Napoleon as the 00:16:54.210 --> 00:16:57.090 embodiment of a heroic revolutionary ideal that 00:16:57.090 --> 00:16:59.649 defied aristocracy. He completed the work in 00:16:59.649 --> 00:17:02.950 1804. But when Napoleon declared himself Emperor 00:17:02.950 --> 00:17:06.569 of France, betraying that republican ideal, Beethoven 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:09.410 flew into a rage. He physically scratched out 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:12.210 Napoleon's name on the title page so violently 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:15.349 he tore a hole in the manuscript. Wow. He rededicated 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:18.660 it simply to the memory of a great man. It was 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.460 a statement about abstract heroism, not political 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.000 loyalty. The rest of the decade is essentially 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.539 a continuous outpouring of this dramatic energy, 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.880 and the Fifth Symphony is often cited as the 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.680 epitome of this style. The Fifth Symphony premiered 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:34.460 in 1808, and it is the textbook example of the 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.420 struggle -to -triumph narrative. E .T .A. Hoffman, 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.720 in his incredibly influential 1810 review, recognized 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.000 this revolution immediately. What did he say? 00:17:43.529 --> 00:17:45.529 He hailed Beethoven as the greatest romantic 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:48.130 composer, noting that the Fifth Symphony sets 00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:51.789 in motion terror, fear, horror, pain, and awakens 00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:53.589 the infinite yearning that is the essence of 00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:55.849 romanticism. This wasn't court entertainment 00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:58.470 anymore. It was a high emotional drama. With 00:17:58.470 --> 00:18:01.049 the compositions becoming so vast, how did he 00:18:01.049 --> 00:18:03.430 manage the practicalities of his career? We know 00:18:03.430 --> 00:18:05.690 his income sources were varied, relying heavily 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:08.430 on patronage. His income stream had three parts. 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:11.930 Publishing, performances, and that essential 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:14.789 patronage system. His most vital aristocratic 00:18:14.789 --> 00:18:18.069 connection was Archduke Rudolf of Austria. And 00:18:18.069 --> 00:18:20.930 Rudolf wasn't just a donor. Not at all. He was 00:18:20.930 --> 00:18:23.130 a serious musician and Beethoven's composition 00:18:23.130 --> 00:18:26.390 and piano student starting around 1803. The relationship 00:18:26.390 --> 00:18:28.670 was close and immensely profitable for Beethoven. 00:18:28.730 --> 00:18:31.910 He dedicated 14 major compositions to Rudolf, 00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:34.670 including the profound Archduke Trio. Speaking 00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:37.049 of performances, the sources highlight the logistical 00:18:37.049 --> 00:18:39.769 nightmare that was his 1808 benefit concert, 00:18:39.970 --> 00:18:42.369 the one that premiered both the Fifth and Sixth 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:44.789 Symphonies. It sounds like a spectacular disaster. 00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:48.009 It was a fiasco of epic proportions, mostly due 00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:50.190 to the sheer amount of music attempted. It premiered 00:18:50.190 --> 00:18:52.730 the Fifth, the Sixth, the Pastoral, the Fourth 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:55.049 Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasy. All in 00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:57.309 one night. In an unheated theater in December, 00:18:57.509 --> 00:19:00.109 lasting over four hours, and it was severely 00:19:00.109 --> 00:19:02.789 under -rehearsed. The sources paint this vivid 00:19:02.789 --> 00:19:05.759 picture of chaos. There were many stops and starts, 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.200 and during the choral fantasy, a musician made 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.799 a mistake, causing Beethoven to stop the entire 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:13.660 orchestra, turn around, and shout corrections 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:17.150 at them. badly played wrong again in front of 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:19.069 the audience before restarting. Oh, that's incredible. 00:19:19.309 --> 00:19:21.190 The sheer strength of his genius must have overcome 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:23.950 this chaos because shortly after, princes were 00:19:23.950 --> 00:19:26.690 fighting to keep him in Vienna. Absolutely. His 00:19:26.690 --> 00:19:30.109 fame reached beyond Austria. In 1808, Jerome 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:32.589 Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, offered Beethoven 00:19:32.589 --> 00:19:35.309 a lucrative kapelmeister position in Kassel. 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.549 The Viennese aristocrats panicked. A talent drain. 00:19:38.769 --> 00:19:41.670 To prevent this national talent drain, Archduke 00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:44.190 Rudolf, Prince Kinski, and Prince Lopkowitz agreed 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.470 to pay Beethoven a guaranteed annual pension 00:19:46.470 --> 00:19:49.589 of 4 ,000 florins, just to ensure he stayed in 00:19:49.589 --> 00:19:52.009 Vienna. That's an unprecedented level of financial 00:19:52.009 --> 00:19:54.210 support for a composer, but the plan quickly 00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.170 collapsed. It did. The financial stability was 00:19:57.170 --> 00:19:59.829 short -lived, and it highlights just how fragile 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:02.069 the Austrian economy was during the Napoleonic 00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:05.349 Wars. Rudolf paid his share. But Prince Kinski 00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:07.849 was called to military duty and died after a 00:20:07.849 --> 00:20:10.490 riding accident. And Prince Lopkowitz went bankrupt. 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:13.170 But the ultimate blow was the currency itself. 00:20:13.470 --> 00:20:16.329 Exactly. The government had printed vast amounts 00:20:16.329 --> 00:20:18.609 of paper money to finance the war, leading to 00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:21.730 massive inflation. So the promised 4 ,000 florins 00:20:21.730 --> 00:20:24.950 just plummeted in real value. He was constantly 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:27.650 fighting not just fate, but bankruptcy. Amidst 00:20:27.650 --> 00:20:30.029 all this, he also composed incidental music for 00:20:30.029 --> 00:20:32.680 Goethe's play Egmont. and the two great artists 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.400 finally met in 1812. The sources depict a famously 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.559 fraught encounter. It was a massive clash of 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.640 personalities. Goethe, refined and established, 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:43.359 met Beethoven, the untamed personality. Goethe 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.900 observed that Beethoven was not altogether wrong 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:48.500 in holding the world to be detestable. And Beethoven's 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:50.880 take on Goethe? He felt Goethe was too differential 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.380 to power. He complained that the poet delights 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:55.819 far too much in the court atmosphere. So friction, 00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:59.980 but not complete disdain. No. Despite the personal 00:20:59.980 --> 00:21:02.460 tension, the mutual artistic respect remained. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:05.680 Beethoven later composed the masterful choral 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:09.019 work setting Goethe's poem Mir still und glückliche 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:12.069 Fart. Their output fed each other. even if their 00:21:12.069 --> 00:21:14.589 personalities repelled. External political chaos 00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:17.710 also fueled specific compositions, like the Les 00:21:17.710 --> 00:21:19.970 Adieux Sonata. The French bombardment of Vienna 00:21:19.970 --> 00:21:22.930 in 1809 directly prompted the Piano Sonata No. 00:21:23.049 --> 00:21:26.750 26. He titled it Das Liebewohl, The Farewell, 00:21:26.890 --> 00:21:29.390 referring to Archduke Rudolf's mandatory evacuation 00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:32.829 from the capital. The final movement, Das Wiedersehen, 00:21:32.970 --> 00:21:35.089 The Return, was even dated in the manuscript 00:21:35.089 --> 00:21:37.170 with the precise date of Rudolf's homecoming. 00:21:37.349 --> 00:21:40.000 Its music as real -time journalism. The last 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:42.240 major moment of this heroic period is the most 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:44.819 famous romantic puzzle of his life, the letter 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:47.440 to the immortal beloved. Written in Teplitz in 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.779 July 1812 is this passionate 10 -page love letter 00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:53.119 to an unknown woman, which he never sent and 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.599 which was discovered after his death. The mystery 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:57.759 endures because Beethoven was so secretive about 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:00.380 his relationships. The sources provide four main 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:02.380 candidates. Let's review those candidates. Well, 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:04.740 there's Josephine Brunswick, the object of passionate 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:08.119 correspondence that ended in 1807. There's Therese 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:10.480 Malfatti, who was 19 when Beethoven, who was 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:13.440 40, proposed marriage. She rejected him. And 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.400 isn't she connected to Fur Elise? Yes. The fascinating 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:19.940 anecdotal detail is the possibility that Fur 00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:23.079 Elise was misread by a later biographer and should 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:25.619 have been titled Fur Therese. Okay. And the two 00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:28.880 major contenders. Julie Gucciardi, the Moonlight 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:30.980 recipient, is a candidate, but she married someone 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:34.400 else. The consensus, though, supported by a lot 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.200 of musicological research, leans toward Antony 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.039 Brentano, a married woman who was visiting Teplitz 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:43.109 in 1812. The correspondence suggests an intense 00:22:43.109 --> 00:22:45.309 but short -lived affair. And the sources note 00:22:45.309 --> 00:22:48.210 that after 1812, his romantic life just vanished. 00:22:48.390 --> 00:22:51.029 It was replaced by this intense social and emotional 00:22:51.029 --> 00:22:53.990 withdrawal. Yes. The anguish of the Halligenstadt 00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:56.029 Resolution had produced 10 years of triumph. 00:22:56.250 --> 00:22:58.910 But the personal exhaustion, combined with the 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:01.130 economic fallout and the crushing finality of 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:03.490 his deafness, led to a total withdrawal from 00:23:03.490 --> 00:23:05.410 the possibility of lasting emotional connection. 00:23:05.690 --> 00:23:08.269 The hero was retreating. This next decade is 00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:11.299 a paradox. On one hand, Beethoven reaches an 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:13.680 absolute financial and public peak with a piece 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:17.180 of, well, light orchestral patriotism. On the 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:19.480 other, the cost of his deafness becomes public 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.279 and his personal life collapses into legal warfare. 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:25.500 The period begins with a huge hit, Wellington's 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:28.759 Victory, composed in 1813 to commemorate the 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:30.799 defeat of the French at the Battle of Vitoria. 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:33.410 It was originally conceived for a mechanical 00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:36.450 instrument, the panharmonicon, before being transcribed 00:23:36.450 --> 00:23:38.730 for orchestra. It was bombastic, entertaining, 00:23:39.170 --> 00:23:41.650 extremely popular. And those charity concerts 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:43.869 were a gold rush for Beethoven. The financial 00:23:43.869 --> 00:23:46.170 pinnacle of his life. The concerts, which also 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:48.430 premiered the Seventh Symphony, generated more 00:23:48.430 --> 00:23:50.750 profit than any other performances in his entire 00:23:50.750 --> 00:23:53.670 career. This cash influx allowed him to invest 00:23:53.670 --> 00:23:56.450 wisely in valuable bank shares. Those were his 00:23:56.450 --> 00:23:58.720 most stable assets at his death. And his only 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:01.500 opera, Fidelio, finally achieved stability and 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:03.799 success during this financial peak. He had struggled 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:05.980 with Fidelio for years, revising it multiple 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:09.250 times. In 1814, he premiered the final successful 00:24:09.250 --> 00:24:12.029 version. Everything seemed stable except his 00:24:12.029 --> 00:24:14.470 ability to perform. Let's discuss the heartbreaking 00:24:14.470 --> 00:24:17.910 public cost of his deafness. The sources detail 00:24:17.910 --> 00:24:21.809 his final performance as a soloist in 1814. It's 00:24:21.809 --> 00:24:24.470 a genuinely painful detail. In April and May 00:24:24.470 --> 00:24:28.910 1814, he played in his own Archduke Trio. This 00:24:28.910 --> 00:24:31.170 marked his last public appearance as a soloist. 00:24:31.490 --> 00:24:34.329 The composer Louis Storr was there and recorded 00:24:34.329 --> 00:24:37.039 the shocking reality. What did he see? He noted 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:39.859 that the piano was badly out of tune, which Beethoven 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:42.599 minded little since he did not hear it. Spohr 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:44.500 concluded that there was scarcely anything left 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:46.980 of the virtuosity of the artist. To witness the 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:49.480 greatest pianist of the era unable to perceive 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:52.019 his own music, that must have been devastating. 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:55.640 It forced a complete physical retreat. From 1814 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:58.119 onward he relied entirely on ear trumpets. By 00:24:58.119 --> 00:25:01.099 early 1818 his hearing loss was so serious that 00:25:01.099 --> 00:25:03.759 direct communication was impossible. This necessitated 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.059 the use of conversation books. Visitors would 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:07.880 write down their side of the conversation and 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:09.759 Beethoven would reply verbally. Those conversation 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.019 books are now an invaluable historical resource 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:14.660 but they also represent the tragedy of his isolation. 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:17.500 They are crucial. They record his daily life, 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:20.640 his musical opinions, his political views. Even 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.960 though his early biographer, Schindler, later 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:24.720 admitted to destroying about two -thirds of the 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.839 books, the surviving volumes give us a window 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:30.400 into the mind of a man increasingly sealed off 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.039 from the world. And if deafness isolated him 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:35.400 professionally, the death of his brother Casper 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:38.200 in 1815 thrust him into the most draining and 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:40.579 compositionally damaging crisis of his life. 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.410 The custody battle for his nephew, Carl. Yes. 00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:45.829 This was a genuine war of attrition that dominated 00:25:45.829 --> 00:25:49.170 his emotional life and severely reduced his compositional 00:25:49.170 --> 00:25:53.650 output between 1815 and 1819. Casper's will named 00:25:53.650 --> 00:25:56.609 Beethoven and his widow, Johanna, as joint guardians 00:25:56.609 --> 00:25:59.309 of nine -year -old Karl. And Beethoven viewed 00:25:59.309 --> 00:26:02.210 Johanna with utter contempt. He did. He saw her 00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:04.650 as an unfit mother and in his paranoia, a morally 00:26:04.650 --> 00:26:07.109 corrupting influence. This battle was informed 00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:09.109 by his previous attempt to interfere with his 00:26:09.109 --> 00:26:11.329 other brother, Johann, trying to force him to 00:26:11.329 --> 00:26:14.009 leave his common -law wife. For Ludwig, the family's 00:26:14.009 --> 00:26:16.490 moral integrity was paramount. So how did the 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:18.710 legal drama unfold? What was the significant 00:26:18.710 --> 00:26:21.910 setback in 1818? He initially won sole custody 00:26:21.910 --> 00:26:26.569 in 1816. The major setback came in 1818. Beethoven 00:26:26.569 --> 00:26:28.630 had filed the case in the Landerechte, the court 00:26:28.630 --> 00:26:30.950 reserved for nobility. When questioned by the 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:33.210 judge, Beethoven had to admit that the van in 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:35.470 his name did not denote nobility, it was just... 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:38.200 Dutch heritage. So he was claiming a status he 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:40.819 didn't legally hold. Exactly. When the court 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:43.079 realized this, the case was transferred out of 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:44.900 the law and directed into the civil magistrate, 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:47.759 which was a huge humiliation and legal setback. 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:51.039 He eventually regained custody in 1820 after 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.660 an intensive struggle. And what was the result 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:55.880 for the boy, Carl, who was at the center of all 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.099 this? Tragically, the child was a victim of this 00:26:58.099 --> 00:27:01.160 overbearing protection. Beethoven's guardianship 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:03.619 was marked by constant interference, intense 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:05.859 demands for perfection, and a severe lack of 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:08.119 emotional understanding. The sources confirm 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:10.319 that his interference in Carl's life was perceived 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:13.720 by the boy as overbearing. And this set the stage 00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:15.680 for the tragedy at the end of Beethoven's life. 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:18.640 Amidst this total external and domestic chaos, 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:21.940 composition just dropped dramatically. Where 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:24.359 did Beethoven turn creatively during this internal 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:28.059 siege? He turned inward and backward. This pause 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:30.440 became a period of intense intellectual study, 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:32.980 which would ultimately fuel the late period innovations. 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:36.160 He was immersing himself in the older music of 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:39.799 the Baroque and Renaissance masters. Bach. Palestrina, 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:42.539 and George Friedrich Handel, whom he famously 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:44.440 called the greatest composer who ever lived. 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.599 So he was resisting modern trends and reengaging 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:49.940 with classical formal discipline. He was deliberately 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:52.539 resisting what he termed the impending romantic 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:55.519 fragmentation towards smaller, more subjective 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.900 forms. He was studying polyphony and contrapuntal 00:27:58.900 --> 00:28:01.440 structure, using it to build his own massive 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:04.380 late style. What are the key works that finally 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:07.319 emerged from this painful, introspective retreat? 00:28:07.789 --> 00:28:10.150 The output is sparser, but it signals the mass 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:13.009 of innovation to come. In 1818, he completed 00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:16.410 the Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106, a work of 00:28:16.410 --> 00:28:19.970 truly unparalleled scale. And in 1816, he introduced 00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:22.549 a completely new genre into the classical repertoire, 00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:25.769 the song cycle, Kandifern Geliebte. And the sources 00:28:25.769 --> 00:28:28.210 also point to his domestic life stabilizing enough 00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:30.890 to support this creative withdrawal. Yes, thanks 00:28:30.890 --> 00:28:33.849 to outside help. The piano workshop proprietor, 00:28:33.849 --> 00:28:36.250 Nanette Streicher, became a crucial friend, helping 00:28:36.250 --> 00:28:38.269 to nurse him and manage his notoriously chaotic 00:28:38.269 --> 00:28:40.950 domestic affairs by finding him a skilled cook. 00:28:41.590 --> 00:28:44.069 This provided the essential stability needed 00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:46.329 for the deep intellectual work of the late period. 00:28:46.650 --> 00:28:49.250 And despite the physical decline, the world still 00:28:49.250 --> 00:28:52.849 recognized his mastery. Absolutely. In 1818, 00:28:52.990 --> 00:28:55.390 he received a gift of a grand piano from Thomas 00:28:55.390 --> 00:28:58.210 Broadwood of London, a major sign of his enduring 00:28:58.210 --> 00:29:00.730 international esteem. Even if he could barely 00:29:00.730 --> 00:29:03.130 hear it, this recognition from across the continent 00:29:03.130 --> 00:29:06.190 was confirmation that the heroic fire still burned. 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:08.960 So by the early 1820s, with the custody battle 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.440 temporarily resolved, the focus shifts entirely 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.900 back to composition, and the sources show this 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:17.140 final magnificent flood of creativity. The final 00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:19.599 years saw the completion of three colossal projects 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:22.200 that had been brewing for half a decade. First, 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.859 the Missa Solemnis, Opus 123. It was originally 00:29:25.859 --> 00:29:28.259 intended for Archduke Rudolf's promotion in 1819, 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:30.619 but it became so monumental it wasn't finished 00:29:30.619 --> 00:29:33.460 until 1823. And the sources emphasized this mass 00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:35.700 was less about institutional religion and more 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:38.640 about a deeply personal philosophy. It was profoundly 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:42.099 spiritual, but highly individualistic. On one 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:45.039 sketch, Beethoven wrote his intention, plea for 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:48.279 inner and outer peace. It's an intellectual journey 00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:51.259 disguised as a liturgical text. He was also very 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:53.579 shrewd in marketing it, attempting to sell manuscripts 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:56.420 to various courts across Europe. Next, the Diabelli 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:59.640 variations. The ambition here was purely competitive, 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.380 wasn't it? Entirely competitive. The publisher 00:30:02.380 --> 00:30:05.519 Antonio Diabelli sent a simple waltz tune to 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:08.259 50 Viennese composers, including Schubert and 00:30:08.259 --> 00:30:10.599 the eight -year -old Liszt, asking for one variation 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:14.019 each. Beethoven, with his heroic ego still fully 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:16.920 intact, saw this as an opportunity to just demolish 00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:19.539 the competition. He didn't write one. He completed 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:22.380 a comprehensive cycle of 33 variations, turning 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:24.359 the trivial theme into a massive intellectual 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:27.000 statement. And the ultimate monument of the late 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:29.460 period, the Ninth Symphony. Sketches for the 00:30:29.460 --> 00:30:31.880 Ninth began as early as 1818, but it was finally 00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:34.440 completed in 1824, and its formal innovation 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:36.680 was absolutely revolutionary. The choral edition. 00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:40.660 Yes. The first major example of a choral symphony, 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:43.619 adding vocal forces in the massive final movement 00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:47.039 to set Schiller's ode to joy. It expanded the 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:49.759 symphonic form beyond instrumental music forever. 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:52.059 What's fascinating is that Beethoven had become 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:54.339 so paranoid about Viennese reception that he 00:30:54.339 --> 00:30:56.240 almost premiered these masterworks in Germany. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:58.950 He was cynical about Vienna. He complained that 00:30:58.950 --> 00:31:00.990 the city had no time for his symphonies, that 00:31:00.990 --> 00:31:04.410 his works were out of fashion. He seriously inquired 00:31:04.410 --> 00:31:07.130 about premiering the Mass and the Ninth in Berlin. 00:31:07.769 --> 00:31:10.390 It took a passionate plea from his loyal Viennese 00:31:10.390 --> 00:31:12.829 admirers to convince him to stage the premiere 00:31:12.829 --> 00:31:16.309 locally. The premiere on May 7, 1824, must have 00:31:16.309 --> 00:31:18.269 been an overwhelming emotional climax for him. 00:31:18.349 --> 00:31:20.529 It was an overwhelming success, met with great 00:31:20.529 --> 00:31:23.329 public acclaim. But the tragedy of his deafness 00:31:23.329 --> 00:31:26.259 made the moment physically agonizing. Beethoven 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:28.740 stood on stage next to the conductor, beating 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:31.680 time for the orchestra, completely unaware of 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:33.420 the roaring applause at the end of the ninth. 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:35.619 I've heard this story. He had to be physically 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:38.819 turned around by the alto soloist, Caroline Unger, 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:41.660 to face the audience and witness the ovation. 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:45.180 It was this powerful, silent display of triumph 00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:47.960 over his sensory isolation. It's sad to hear 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:50.299 that his final public concert held shortly after 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:53.579 was poorly attended. Yes. A couple of weeks later, 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:55.559 the second concert was a financial disappointment. 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:59.039 This setback led to a characteristic outburst 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:01.599 of paranoia where he accused his secretary of 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:04.380 shooting him, though they later reconciled. Following 00:32:04.380 --> 00:32:06.759 the ninth, he moved into his final compositional 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:10.420 act, the late string quartets. These are arguably 00:32:10.420 --> 00:32:12.640 his most intellectually demanding and personal 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:15.079 works. Commissioned by Prince Nikolai Galitsin 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:17.980 of St. Petersburg, these five quartets are chamber 00:32:17.980 --> 00:32:21.190 music of unparalleled depth. When illness struck 00:32:21.190 --> 00:32:24.609 him in April 1825, the experience inspired the 00:32:24.609 --> 00:32:27.410 deeply moving slow movement of the A minor quartet, 00:32:27.410 --> 00:32:30.869 Op. 132. He titled it, Holy Song of Thanks to 00:32:30.869 --> 00:32:33.049 the Divinity, from a convalescent. These works 00:32:33.049 --> 00:32:35.589 were so radical that one of them, the B -flat 00:32:35.589 --> 00:32:38.769 major quartet, Op. 130, caused an immediate and 00:32:38.769 --> 00:32:40.890 major dispute with his publisher. The problem 00:32:40.890 --> 00:32:44.289 was the original final movement, the gross fugue, 00:32:44.289 --> 00:32:48.910 Op. 133. It was this enormous, complex, and brutally 00:32:48.910 --> 00:32:51.349 demanding piece, both for the players and the 00:32:51.349 --> 00:32:53.289 audience. At the premiere, the fugue was hated. 00:32:53.470 --> 00:32:55.849 It was simply too far ahead of its time. So what 00:32:55.849 --> 00:32:57.950 happened? The publisher persuaded the composer, 00:32:58.210 --> 00:33:00.809 against his initial will, to replace it with 00:33:00.809 --> 00:33:05.099 a new, easier finale. Beethoven reluctantly complied, 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:07.039 completing this replacement finale in November 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:10.420 1826. It was his very last completed composition. 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:12.799 Which of these quartets did he himself consider 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:15.299 his greatest? He rated the C -sharp minor quartet, 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:19.319 Op. 131, as his most perfect single work. It 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:21.299 is revolutionary in its structure, comprised 00:33:21.299 --> 00:33:23.480 of seven linked movements played without pause, 00:33:23.619 --> 00:33:26.039 creating this single, vast, seamless emotional 00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:29.140 journey. And his very final quartet, the F major, 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:32.200 Op. 135, contains that famous, almost philosophical 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:34.400 question and answer. It's the final word from 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:37.900 the composer. The last movement is titled Der 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:41.359 schwer gefasste Entschluss, The Difficult Decision. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:45.400 The theme is prefaced by the dialogue. Muss's 00:33:45.400 --> 00:33:48.880 sign. Must it be? Answered definitively by S. 00:33:48.940 --> 00:33:51.400 Muss's sign. It must be. Whether this was about 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:53.660 a small debt or the acceptance of fate itself, 00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:57.079 it remains his final enigmatic statement. The 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.599 turbulence returned one final time, centered 00:33:59.599 --> 00:34:02.519 around his nephew, Karl. The stress of Beethoven's 00:34:02.519 --> 00:34:05.500 overbearing demands finally broke Karl. In August 00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:08.300 1826, Karl attempted suicide by shooting himself 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:10.539 in the head. He survived. He survived. After 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:12.320 leaving the hospital, he went to recuperate with 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:14.460 Beethoven. But the difficult, cold journey back 00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:17.719 to Vienna in December 1826 was the final straw 00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:20.119 for Beethoven's health. That journey marked the 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:22.159 final decline. What were his final symptoms? 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:24.949 His health failed rapidly. He experienced fever, 00:34:25.170 --> 00:34:27.309 jaundice, and dropsy severe swelling of the limbs. 00:34:27.469 --> 00:34:30.110 He underwent multiple painful operations to drain 00:34:30.110 --> 00:34:32.570 the excess fluid. Karl left to join the army 00:34:32.570 --> 00:34:35.670 in early January 1827. With Karl gone, Beethoven 00:34:35.670 --> 00:34:38.190 immediately wrote a final will, making his nephew 00:34:38.190 --> 00:34:40.769 his sole heir. Can we walk through those final, 00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:43.989 poignant moments leading up to his death? His 00:34:43.989 --> 00:34:46.090 final weeks were marked by visitors and gifts. 00:34:46.489 --> 00:34:49.010 The London Philharmonic Society sent him 100 00:34:49.010 --> 00:34:52.280 pounds, which greatly cheered him. On March 24, 00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:56.320 1827, he received the last rites. A case of expensive 00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:58.780 wine arrived from his publisher. He whispered 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:01.500 his final recorded words upon seeing it. Pity 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:03.840 too late. And the actual moment of his death, 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:06.519 on March 26, is captured with a touch of romantic 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:09.599 drama. His friend Anselm Huttenbrenner was present 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:11.940 and left this famous account. He claimed that 00:35:11.940 --> 00:35:14.940 at the moment Beethoven died at age 56, a violent 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:17.260 thunderstorm broke over Vienna. There was a flash 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:19.840 of lightning and a massive clap of thunder. Huttenbrenner 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:21.559 claimed this sound caused the deaf Beethoven 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:23.940 to open his eyes, lift a clenched right fist 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:26.519 high above his head, and look up defiantly for 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:29.500 several seconds before falling back, dead. The 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:31.760 autopsy confirmed the severity of his long -term 00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:34.340 illnesses, fueling decades of speculation about 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:36.860 the true cause of death. the autopsy revealed 00:35:36.860 --> 00:35:39.880 extensive liver damage highly suggestive of alcoholic 00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:43.519 cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis crucially it noted 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:45.639 considerable dilation of the auditory nerves 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:48.599 while his official cause of death was liver disease 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:51.360 the high lead concentrations later found in his 00:35:51.360 --> 00:35:54.219 hair have led many modern researchers to conclude 00:35:54.219 --> 00:35:57.239 that chronic lead poisoning likely exacerbated 00:35:57.239 --> 00:36:00.309 by heavy drinking significantly contributed to 00:36:00.309 --> 00:36:02.769 his suffering and ultimate death. However tragic 00:36:02.769 --> 00:36:05.610 his final moments, the funeral was a massive 00:36:05.610 --> 00:36:08.369 public tribute. It was an event of sate. His 00:36:08.369 --> 00:36:11.710 funeral procession on March 29, 1827, was a monumental 00:36:11.710 --> 00:36:14.610 affair, attended by an estimated 10 ,000 people. 00:36:15.170 --> 00:36:17.449 Franz Schubert, another great talent who would 00:36:17.449 --> 00:36:19.570 soon follow him to the grave, was one of the 00:36:19.570 --> 00:36:21.969 torchbearers. It was a recognition that a giant 00:36:21.969 --> 00:36:24.369 had passed. As we conclude this deep dive, we 00:36:24.369 --> 00:36:26.010 need to return to that intellectual framework, 00:36:26.250 --> 00:36:28.650 the three established periods. While this structure 00:36:28.650 --> 00:36:30.630 was conventionalized by his early biographers, 00:36:30.889 --> 00:36:33.250 it remains the best lens through which to view 00:36:33.250 --> 00:36:35.710 his evolution. It really is. And to make it clear, 00:36:35.809 --> 00:36:38.130 let's revisit the stylistic markers, starting 00:36:38.130 --> 00:36:42.769 with the first period, around 1792 to 1802. Mastery 00:36:42.769 --> 00:36:45.329 and early innovation within the classical framework. 00:36:45.670 --> 00:36:47.889 This was the mastery of the Viennese style, built 00:36:47.889 --> 00:36:50.449 by Haydn and Mozart. But Beethoven immediately 00:36:50.449 --> 00:36:53.230 began inserting radical innovations. He frequently 00:36:53.230 --> 00:36:55.449 used four movements in his sonatas instead of 00:36:55.449 --> 00:36:58.150 three. And crucially, he replaced the stately, 00:36:58.230 --> 00:37:01.250 courtly minuet with the scherzo. And for our 00:37:01.250 --> 00:37:03.769 listeners, what exactly does the scherzo achieve 00:37:03.769 --> 00:37:06.050 that the minuet does not? The scherzo, which 00:37:06.050 --> 00:37:09.090 literally means joke in Italian, is fast, highly 00:37:09.090 --> 00:37:11.650 rhythmic, and dramatic. It allowed Beethoven 00:37:11.650 --> 00:37:13.769 to introduce these extreme shifts in dynamics 00:37:13.769 --> 00:37:17.469 in tempi, loud, soft, fast, slow, and use chromatic 00:37:17.469 --> 00:37:19.550 harmony in ways that the dignified minuet could 00:37:19.550 --> 00:37:21.949 never permit. It was the first sign of his expressive 00:37:21.949 --> 00:37:24.349 will pushing against classical restraint. The 00:37:24.349 --> 00:37:27.710 middle period, 1802 to 1812, is the style of 00:37:27.710 --> 00:37:30.750 the man who seized fate, heroism and grand scale. 00:37:30.989 --> 00:37:33.449 This is defined by emotional intensity and scale. 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:37.219 Symphonies 3 through 8, the Archduke Trio, his 00:37:37.219 --> 00:37:39.739 major concertos. He expanded the movements in 00:37:39.739 --> 00:37:42.199 the expressive range, moving toward true dramatic 00:37:42.199 --> 00:37:45.099 storytelling and music. As we noted with the 00:37:45.099 --> 00:37:47.519 Eroica, the sheer length and emotional weight 00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:49.880 of these pieces made them revolutionary. And 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:53.420 finally, the late period from about 1812 to 1827, 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:55.460 where the influence of Bach and Handel becomes 00:37:55.460 --> 00:37:58.059 audible. This is the period of profound synthesis. 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:00.880 characterized by intellectual depth and highly 00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:03.579 personal expression. His renewed study of the 00:38:03.579 --> 00:38:06.480 old masters led him to integrate deep polyphony, 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:09.619 complex fugues, and even church modes, these 00:38:09.619 --> 00:38:12.059 ancient scales that lend a spiritual, timeless 00:38:12.059 --> 00:38:15.079 quality back into the romantic repertoire. The 00:38:15.079 --> 00:38:17.079 formal innovations, like the seven -link movements 00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:20.719 of opus 131, show him moving far beyond the established 00:38:20.719 --> 00:38:23.119 boundaries. The sources dedicated significant 00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:25.219 detail to his pianos, which really illustrates 00:38:25.219 --> 00:38:27.559 the tragedy of the deaf composer struggling against 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:30.119 the very mechanism of his art. It's the constant 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:33.340 physical struggle. Early on, he preferred Stein 00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:36.380 pianos, then later those by Johann Andreas Streicher. 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:40.599 In 1803, he received an exceptional Erhard piano, 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:43.400 whose residents influenced works like the Waldstein 00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:46.570 Sonata. But once his hearing worsened, even high 00:38:46.570 --> 00:38:48.489 -quality instruments failed him. They literally 00:38:48.489 --> 00:38:51.389 became useless to him. Yes. He abandoned the 00:38:51.389 --> 00:38:54.409 Arard before 1810, noting it was simply not of 00:38:54.409 --> 00:38:57.489 any use anymore. The Broadwood Grand he received 00:38:57.489 --> 00:39:00.690 in 1818, despite its excellent quality, was still 00:39:00.690 --> 00:39:03.469 too soft. He tried to remodel it to make it louder. 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:06.179 The climax of this tragedy was the custom Conrad 00:39:06.179 --> 00:39:09.119 Graf piano he commissioned in 1825. The one with 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:11.519 quadruple strings. Quadruple strings and a special 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:14.179 resonator to amplify the sound. And even this 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:15.860 cutting -edge instrument ultimately failed to 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:18.219 make itself audible to him. The instruments evolved, 00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:21.760 but his body betrayed him. As we conclude, his 00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:23.780 enduring legacy goes beyond the concert hall. 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:26.840 His cultural footprint is immense. Museums are 00:39:26.840 --> 00:39:29.420 devoted to his journey. The Beethoven House in 00:39:29.420 --> 00:39:32.260 Bonn, the Heiligenstadt Museum, where he wrote 00:39:32.260 --> 00:39:34.630 the Testament. His importance was recognized 00:39:34.630 --> 00:39:37.550 institutionally early on. The Beethoven Monument 00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:41.269 in Bonn in 1845 was the first statue of a composer 00:39:41.269 --> 00:39:44.170 ever created in Germany. His name is synonymous 00:39:44.170 --> 00:39:46.190 with the highest aspirations of Western art. 00:39:46.349 --> 00:39:48.570 And globally, his influence is still recognized 00:39:48.570 --> 00:39:51.050 at the highest level. The manuscript of the Ninth 00:39:51.050 --> 00:39:53.550 Symphony was deemed a document of world heritage. 00:39:53.809 --> 00:39:57.530 In 2001, the manuscript of Symphony No. 9 became 00:39:57.530 --> 00:39:59.789 the first musical score ever added to the UNESCO 00:39:59.789 --> 00:40:02.820 Memory of the World International Register. The 00:40:02.820 --> 00:40:04.619 work he finished, while almost entirely deaf, 00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:06.559 the one he had to be turned around to see the 00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:08.960 applause for, is now enshrined as a document 00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:11.719 representing humanity's global memory. So if 00:40:11.719 --> 00:40:14.139 we step back from this deep dive, the main takeaway 00:40:14.139 --> 00:40:16.800 is this astonishing contrast between his chaotic 00:40:16.800 --> 00:40:20.079 personal life, the abuse of father, the financial 00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:22.940 struggles, the agony of deafness, the toxic legal 00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:25.940 battle over Carl. and the disciplined, monumental, 00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:28.519 and emotionally triumphant nature of his finished 00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:31.139 art. He took the established forms of the classical 00:40:31.139 --> 00:40:33.340 era, injected them with the fire and struggle 00:40:33.340 --> 00:40:35.719 of his own experience, and single -handedly birthed 00:40:35.719 --> 00:40:38.059 the Romantic Age. And that leads to a profound 00:40:38.059 --> 00:40:41.019 question for you, the listener, to explore further. 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:43.679 We know that his final greatest works, the Le 00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:46.619 Cortex, the Missa Solemnis, were born from an 00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:48.619 intense period of studying Baroque polyphony, 00:40:48.739 --> 00:40:51.760 forced by his social withdrawal. Could this physical 00:40:51.760 --> 00:40:54.179 loss, this enforced isolation from the outside 00:40:54.179 --> 00:40:56.920 world, have been the necessary catalyst? Did 00:40:56.920 --> 00:40:59.280 the physical decline actually push his intellectual 00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:02.559 focus inward? Forcing him to engage with formal 00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:05.159 structure on a level that allowed for his greatest, 00:41:05.219 --> 00:41:08.059 most profound musical innovations was ultimate 00:41:08.059 --> 00:41:10.260 artistic triumph dependent on physical loss. 00:41:10.599 --> 00:41:12.820 We encourage you to listen to the fire and rage 00:41:12.820 --> 00:41:14.860 of the Pathetique Sonata and then experience 00:41:14.860 --> 00:41:17.619 the seven linked introverted movements of the 00:41:17.619 --> 00:41:20.409 Op. 131 Quartet right next to it. A profound 00:41:20.409 --> 00:41:22.030 thought on the relationship between suffering 00:41:22.030 --> 00:41:24.369 and creation. Thank you for joining us for this 00:41:24.369 --> 00:41:26.530 deep dive into the life and work of Ludwig von 00:41:26.530 --> 00:41:26.849 Beethoven.