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Chapter 02 of 5

A Secret Silence

Vienna's star pianist begins to go deaf, and tells almost no one.

  1. The Star

    King of the keyboard

    By the late 1790s Beethoven was Vienna's most exciting pianist, famous for wild, inventive improvisations.

  2. The Duel

    Piano battles

    Pianists sometimes faced off in public contests. In 1800 Beethoven humiliated a rival, Daniel Steibelt, who reportedly refused ever to meet him again.

  3. The Patrons

    Princes and counts

    Wealthy aristocrats paid him, hosted his concerts and gave him a yearly income, giving him unusual freedom for a composer.

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🎹 The Composer Who Couldn't Hear

  1. 01The Boy from BonnA harsh father, a hard childhood, and a teenager who had to hold his family together.
  2. 02A Secret SilenceVienna's star pianist begins to go deaf, and tells almost no one.
  3. 03The Heiligenstadt TestamentA secret letter of despair, then the most defiant music he ever wrote.
  4. 04Conversation BooksA deaf genius, notebooks full of chatter, and a secretary who rewrote history.
  5. 05Ode to JoyThe Ninth Symphony's premiere, a famous moment of applause, and a tune the world adopted.