A casual genius: Beethoven's pointed pen

"Oh you people who think me hostile, stubborn or misanthropic - how wrong you do me!" 

Thus Beethoven begins his "Heiligenstadt Testament". Although he could be quite a grouch, he was usually sociable – and quick-witted.

"I'm not playing for those bastards!" 

Beethoven's confidant Ferdinand Ries reports: Beethoven is said to have shouted this sentence at a concert for a young count. For Herr Graf was talking loudly to a woman in the next room. How can he, the philistine?!

"Cleaning takes all day – and it's high time!" 

Even a genius has household worries. In this short message, Beethoven asks his friend, the violinist Karl Holz, to come not for lunch but for dinner. Cleaning takes longer than expected.

Beethoven demands a lot from his friends - especially in his letters he wants to return the favour. In gratitude for his support, Beethoven recommends a vineyard in Mainz to his friend Franz Brentano. On the other hand: Beethoven could also have sent a bottle 🤷

Beethoven was also not at a loss for ironic puns. He reports to his friend Franz Salzmann: 

"All the notes I play will not get me out of trouble!" 

Writing great art was apparently not enough - it also had to sell.

Even with famous contemporaries, Beethoven was not squeamish. When he learned that Napoleon had defeated the Prussians, he allegedly exclaimed indignantly: "It's a pity that I don't understand the art of war as well as the art of music, I would have defeated him after all!"

Beethoven also had little respect for Goethe. During their walk together in 1812, they met the French Empress. While Goethe allegedly bowed deeply, Beethoven stubbornly continued his walk. Beethoven:

"Goethe likes the court air too much - more than befits a poet."

In general, Beethoven likes to be rebellious in questions of the state. When a republican uprising failed in Vienna, he writes to his friend Nikolaus Simrock:

"As long as the Austrian still has beer and sausages, he will not revolt."

Even on his deathbed, Beethoven was still available for situation comedy. Allegedly, he had asked for wine shortly before his death. But when his servant finally arrived with the bottles, the composer was only capable of these last words:

"A pity! - A pity! - too late!!"