Beethoven – Portrait, Description and His Views on England

With the Beethoven cycle taking place at the Proms this week, we thought we’d post another story to complement the wonderful tale about the muse for the ‘Moonlight Sonata’.

The portrait/description and story included below come from ‘The Beethoven Centennial’ in 1927. At this time, there was a major reappraisal of his work.

In the description of Beethoven that accompanies the portrait, we loved learning that although ‘no beauty’, he could still make ‘Adonises fume in the background’!

It was also fascinating to read about his views on England and its culture, and the story about the £100 gift that the London Philharmonic Society gave to him near the end of his life is especially moving.

There are 100s of interesting stories about Beethoven in the Archive. So why not see what you can discover about Beethoven?

Hull Daily Mail – Wednesday 23 March 1927

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19270323/042/0006

Hull Daily Mail – Wednesday 23 March 1927

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19270323/042/0006