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Beethoven. Beyond
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
A Promising Boy
BONN, Beethoven House. 1770
PLAY ME
Few men possess the sacred fire;
I was one of them... I came into the world in
Bonn, in a family of musicians, in 1770. This city was an outpost of the troubled Holy Roman Empire. Revolution was in the air and would soon spread across Europe. The nobles who had ruled until then did not realise it, but their world was coming to an end.
My grandfather tried to pass on his musical talent to his son Johann, my father, However, Bonn still provided sanctuary from the turmoil and its court was a refuge for aristocrats. The musical director of the court was my grandfather, Ludwig van Beethoven, after whom I was named.
My grandfather tried to pass on his musical talent to his son Johann, my father, but the latter turned out to be a mediocre composer and a persistent alcoholic. There were three children in my family. I was a shy and sensitive child who was beginning to show early signs of musical talent, so much so that my father decided to
teach me to play the piano. As a child, I was a promising musician; my father dreamed of turning me into a new Mozart, taking me all over Europe to give concerts for fame and money. He wanted me to be better than him at all costs; all his ambitions, all his broken dreams were poured into me.
Sezione 3
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