At just 24 years old, Ludwig van Beethoven had his debut performance in Vienna on this day, in 1975. In honour of that, we have curated a list of five fun facts that you might not have known about one of the greatest composers in the history of classical music
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Haunted by poor health
Beethoven is famously known for having composed several of his masterpieces while being deaf. However, being deaf was really not the worst of his problems. He was haunted by ill health — chronic hepatitis, jaundice, colitis, various skin diseases, rheumatic fever and cirrhosis of the liver. Twenty-five pounds of water had to be drained from his abdomen before his death in 1827, but even then he kept his humour about him. He made a joke about how his doctor was
“like Moses, striking water from a rock”.
Bad at love
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Beethoven was a romantic, and hopelessly so. He often fell in love with women who eventually rejected him. He proposed to three different women, and each one of them turned him down. After his death, a passionate letter to an anonymous “Immortal Beloved” was found. Many scholars believe that this unsent letter was meant for Josephine Brunsvik, a woman he loved deeply.
Also bad at math
Beethoven had difficulty tracking his finances. PIC/WIKIPEDIA
Though his compositions are known to be mathematically complex, Beethoven always had a hard time with numbers. He did learn how to add and subtract, but left school before he could learn how to multiply and divide. It’s no shocker that he had a hard time keeping track of his finances. In a letter, he described himself as “really an incompetent business man who is bad at arithmetic”. At least he was a self-aware man!
The infamous meeting with Goethe
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a famous German poet and novelist. Beethoven adored poetry and poets, and he was very eager to meet Goethe. A young woman named Bettina finally made this possible. But when they met, Goethe pitied Beethoven for his social awkwardness and his hearing loss. What’s funny is that they both promised to meet again but never spoke a word to each other again.
Punny man
Though he seems to be scowling in almost every portrait, Beethoven was actually a big fan of humour, which is evident in his letters. In one missive to his brother Johann, Ludwig referred to his publisher as “Hr Scheißen” (“Mr Shitting”). His reaction to Timothée Chalamet’s comments on the opera would have truly been entertaining.
Modern pianists you should absolutely not miss!
Khatia Buniatishvili. PIC/WIKIPEDIA
. Yuja Wang: The Chinese-born American pianist started to learn the piano aged six. She is known as one of the most dazzling piano acts of today.
. Khatia Buniatishvili: She is often referred to as a “social media pianist” because of her strong online presence. She is known for expressive, bold, and emotional performances.
. Alexander Malofeev: The Russian artiste established himself as one of the most captivating pianists of his generation.
. Kystian Zimerman: A Polish virtuoso pianist and conductor, and one of the best pianists alive. He famously won the International Chopin Competition at age 18.
. Behzod Abduraimov: Described by The Independent as “the most perfectly accomplished pianist of his generation”.
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