Chapter 03 of 5
The Heiligenstadt Testament
A secret letter of despair, then the most defiant music he ever wrote.
- The Letter
October 1802
On 6 October 1802, in Heiligenstadt, Beethoven wrote a long letter to his brothers Carl and Johann.
- The Name
A testament
It is known today as the Heiligenstadt Testament: part will, part confession, part farewell.
- The Pain
Misunderstood
He wrote that people thought him hostile and stubborn, when really he was hiding his deafness out of shame.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Why did Beethoven scratch Napoleon's name off his Third Symphony?
🎹 The Composer Who Couldn't Hear
- 01The Boy from BonnA harsh father, a hard childhood, and a teenager who had to hold his family together.
- 02A Secret SilenceVienna's star pianist begins to go deaf, and tells almost no one.
- 03The Heiligenstadt TestamentA secret letter of despair, then the most defiant music he ever wrote.
- 04Conversation BooksA deaf genius, notebooks full of chatter, and a secretary who rewrote history.
- 05Ode to JoyThe Ninth Symphony's premiere, a famous moment of applause, and a tune the world adopted.