National Geographic History - 03.2019 - 04.2019

bringing him acclaim all over Europe as a triumph

over the old ways.

Beethoven’s innovative compositions took

music to new heights. His symphonies told en-

tire stories without words, unfurling emotions

and painting pictures that immersed listeners

like nothing before it. Beethoven dominated the

musical world the same way Napoleon reigned

over the military and political spheres. These two

men never met, but a shared critical moment in

the early 19th century revealed a stark contrast

between these two icons.

Bonn Beginnings

Ludwig van Beethoven was born to a middle-

class family. As a young man, he was forced to

support his mother and siblings due to his fa-

ther Johann’s alcoholism. Although he was never

regarded as a prodigy as the young Mozart before

him, or Mendelssohn after him (who wrote five

operas while still a child), Beethoven’s talent was

impressive. At the age of 14, he was employed as

second organist at the court of the regional rul-

er, the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, assisting

Christian Gottlob Neefe, the principal court organ-

ist and Beethoven’s music teacher. In his piano and

composition lessons, Neefe awoke in his student a

deep love for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach

and a voracious appetite for reading.

Three years later, the Archbishop-Elector of Co-

logne, Maximilian Franz, decided to promote the

young musician. Bonn-Cologne was, at this time,

a state within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by

Maximilian’s brother, Joseph II. The elector de-

cided the 17 year old would go to Vienna, impe-

rial capital and European center of classical music.

There in 1787, Beethoven was received by none

other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There is a

story, (regarded by some historians as apocryphal)

that, on hearing him play, Mozart said to his wife,

“Watch out for that boy. One day he will give the

T

wo giants who shook the foundations of

18th- and 19th-century Europe, Ludwig

van Beethoven and Napoleon Bonapar-

te were born just one year apart—

Beethoven in Bonn, near Cologne (now

Germany) in 1770 and Bonaparte in Ajaccio, Cor-

sica, in 1769. These two men radically transformed

their respective fields, leaving behind legacies that

all of their followers were forced to acknowledge

while attempting to transcend.

Napoleon’s military prowess after the French

a quick rise to power. Victory af-

hed the young man’s reputation,

HEROIC POSE
Antoine-Jean Gros’s
painting (above)
depicts the 27-year-
old Napoleon on
the bridge at Arcole,
Italy, where he dealt
a severe defeat to the
Austrians in 1796.

RALDS

A

W AGE

1789

When the Bastille is

stormed in July, Napoleon,

age 19, is a French army

officer, and Beethoven, 18,

a musician in Bonn.

1792

Beethoven moves to Vienna,

which he will call home for the

rest of his life. He studies briefly

with Joseph Haydn and works

for the rich and powerful.

Napoleon s mi

Revolutionledto a

ter victoryburnish

OF

NNNNE

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN BY GUSTAV LANDGREBE, CIRCA 1890.

SAMMLUNG ARCHIV FÜR KUNST UND GESCHICHTE, BERLIN. AKG/ALBUM

DANIEL STEINER/RMN-GRAND PALAIS