About this episode
Today we have the privilege of speaking With the ghost or if you will the spirit of Ludwig van Beethoven —arguably the greatest composer of all time.
Ghost sound
Maestro Beethoven, thank you for joining us. Could you begin by telling us about your background?
Herr Bartley, it is extremely strange to look back from beyond the grave, but let me oblige. I vas born in Bonn, December 1770, into a family of musicians. My grandfather, Kapellmeister Ludvig van Beethoven, vas a respected man, and my father, Johann, sang in the court chapel. From him I inherited both music and hardship. He drank heavily, and though he recognized my talent, his methods vere Vetty harsh.
As a boy, I vas pushed to practice the clavier late into the night. Neighbors recalled hearing me sobbing over the keys, small fingers stumbling, vhile my father demanded brilliance. It vas a cruel apprenticeship, but it forged in me a stubborn resilience.
By my early teens, I vas already performing publicly in Bonn and serving as assistant organist. The Elector of Cologne, vho ruled Bonn, supported my education. He sent me to study vith Christian Gottlob Neefe, vho introduced me to the vorks of Bach — those fugues became my daily bread, the grammar of my musical thought.
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