10 Curious Facts About Beethoven | Part 2
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David Hackett26. March 2023
Ludwig Van Beethoven still defines much of our popular conception of an eccentric, chaotic genius. But how much do we really know about him? We examine some of his lesser-known habits and idiosyncrasies.
He refused to abide by class rules
At a time when most musicians still made their living via a steady job in either a church or aristocratic court, Beethoven refused to do either. Much of his income, directly and indirectly, came from the patronage from several rich backers. Beethoven usually wrote them the music they wanted, though on his terms, and he utterly refused to kowtow to any of their curtsies and ceremonies. Archduke Rudolph of Austria, a great supporter, eventually gave up trying to house-train his gifted but wayward composer, instructing his staff that Beethoven was to be excused of all normal court etiquette.
At the same time, Beethoven claimed his “van” entitled him to be regarded as of noble German stock…
Except that it didn’t. He wasn’t descended from Teutonic/Prussian aristocracy (nor was he the love child of Friedrich Wilhelm II or Frederick the Great, as he sometimes liked others to believe). The “van” in his name was an undistinguished prefix of Dutch/Belgium origin, a fact that Beethoven either didn’t want to believe, or else was not keen to let on to others.
He was constantly in love but never got married
Much of Beethoven’s life seemed to involve an endless a conveyor belt of beautiful, wealthy women attracted by his headstrong, artistic temperament before being repelled in equal measure by his headstrong, artistic temperament. He never lost a certain naïve idealism about love, even if the majority of his romantic dalliances went unconsummated. It is hard to imagine Beethoven ever being contentedly domesticated, something which his prospective suitresses may also have recognized.
Despite his beautifully constructed, mathematically balanced scores, he struggled with basic arithmetic
Beethoven left school aged 10 to pursue his musical career and thus missed out on some rudimentary education. Although he was able to manage some simple addition, he could not multiply or divide in his head, and would often have to carry out such calculations with physical counters.
He was surprisingly regular with his working habits
He would rise at dawn, work for at least six hours, have lunch, go for a long country walk and then spend his evenings having dinner at a tavern, socialising with friends or quietly reading. The man often thought of as classical music’s hellraiser was usually tucked up in bed by 10pm.