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Beethoven. Beyond
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
Only one of me
GRÄTZ, Opava District. 1801
PLAY ME
Very rich people, like Prince Lichnowsky,
wanted to have me as a composer, without conditions.
As a true rebel, I quickly made it clear to them that they could finance me, but not buy me. I wanted to be independent from these aristocratic 'families'; I would get on well with them, and then the next morning I would go wild as a beast.
My mood swings and bad temper became as legendary as my music. I was so proud that I thought I was second only to God. I was now a 'romantic' creator, a hero working not for the client, but for his own muse. After yet another quarrel with Prince Lichnowsky,
I stormed out of his country residence in Grätz, leaving him a message saying: <<There are many princes, Lichnowsky; there is only one Beethoven!>>. The growing fame brought me, for the first time, the attention of women. I fell deeply in love with one of my students: Countess Julie Guicciardi. In order to woo her, I composed the sublime Moonlight Sonata,
but she had no intention of marrying a man without noble titles, so she left me. In the few years I spent in Vienna, I became the darling of the aristocrats. But just then, when things were going well, I began to hear a ringing in my ears.... a noise that grew louder and louder... Soon, my musical world would sink into silence.
Sezione 3
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