12 facts to help you get to know Beethoven

Anyone who is committed to nature conservation cannot get past Beethoven. The best ideas came to him during long walks. In the sixth symphony, the "Pastorale", he sets a monument to his love of nature. Today, creative people are committed to climate protection in their minds.

In the evening, Beethoven liked to sit in a comfortable round in the Viennese inns - often until late into the night. The next morning at 6 o'clock he was awake again and at work. With this work ethic you'll definitely go far!

If life has given you a hard time, think of Beethoven: a tough childhood, unfulfilled love, illness. And yet he never stopped composing. Even on his deathbed, Beethoven continued to compose.

Only a few could write letters as beautifully corny as Beethoven: "I can either live only with you completely - or not at all! But all his pleas were unanswered: He hadn't been in a long-term relationship.

Early on Beethoven came into contact with the ideas of the French Enlightenment: liberty, equality, fraternity. He retained this positive image of man throughout his life. In his Ninth Symphony, a choir sings, "All men become brothers."

Although Beethoven could also be quite a grouch, he remained true to his best friends throughout his life. They comforted him about his broken family and helped him to cope with everyday life.

Beethoven had to put up with a lot in his family. His father drank and tried to turn him into a second Mozart by force. Beethoven found refuge with a family who hired him as a piano teacher for their children - the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Nobody's a genius enough for work to get done by itself. Beethoven also worked incredibly hard. He revised his scores in several steps until he had the best possible version.

There are still numerous representations of Beethoven - and he always looks a little different on each one. Publishers, friends and admirers each wanted to portray their own Beethoven. Fantasy has always been part of the picture as well. Insta-Gold!

Unlike all other contemporary paintings, the famous Beethoven painting shows how Beethoven works on his art. Joseph Karl Stieler's painting shaped the ideas that people have about Beethoven to this day. Today he would certainly be an influencer.