Ludwig van B. - My immortal lover

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Movie
German title Ludwig van B. - My immortal lover
Original title Immortal Beloved
Country of production United Kingdom ,
United States
original language English
Publishing year 1994
length 120 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Bernard Rose
script Bernard Rose
production Bruce Davey
music Ludwig van Beethoven ,
Gioachino Rossini
camera Peter Suschitzky
cut Dan Rae
occupation

Ludwig van B. - My immortal beloved (original title: Immortal Beloved ) is a British - American feature film from 1994. The partially fictional biography film about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven was directed by Bernard Rose . The main roles are played by Gary Oldman as Beethoven and Jeroen Krabbé as his secretary Anton Felix Schindler.

action

In 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven was buried with great sympathy from the population. His secretary Anton Schindler found a letter in his estate in which he bequeathed all of his fortune to his " Immortal Beloved ". Schindler immediately starts looking to discover the identity of the stranger.

Schindler's first lead leads him to a hotel in Carlsbad . The landlady tells Schindler that Beethoven had reserved a room with her; However, this was obtained shortly afterwards from a veiled stranger. A letter from Beethoven was also addressed to her, in which Beethoven promised to arrive soon. When Beethoven arrived, however, the stranger had disappeared, Beethoven smashed the furniture in anger.

Next, Schindler visits Countess Giulietta Guicciardi . She tells him about how she met Beethoven at the age of 17 in Vienna, who immediately became her piano teacher. While walking in the park he told her about his work on a new symphony with which he intended to express his protest against the aristocracy; therefore this symphony, the " Eroica ", should also be dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte , who promised to bring the ideals of the French Revolution to completion. Giulietta's father raised concerns about Giulietta's and Beethoven's marriage plans, however, because the destitute Beethoven would soon no longer be able to work because of an impending deafness. In an attempt by Giulietta to prove Beethoven's ability to play, Beethoven found himself cheated of his feelings by this test.

Beethoven's brother Nikolaus Johann tells Schindler of Beethoven's reaction when their brother Casper Anton Carl informed him and Beethoven that they wanted to marry Johanna Reiss: Beethoven considered her morally questionable because of her promiscuity and did not even hesitate to shut the police into his house send.

Countess Erdődy tells Schindler about her acquaintance with Beethoven and her appreciation for him. She was shocked to witness the world premiere of Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto , which turned into a fiasco because of his deafness. A little later Napoleon crowned himself emperor and covered Europe with war; Beethoven, disappointed, deleted the dedication of “Eroica” to his former idol from the title page of the score. A relationship developed between Countess Erdődy and Beethoven, but there was no future.

Schindler, on the other hand, tells the Countess that Beethoven told him about that unknown lover at the premiere of Violin Sonata No. 9 (the “Kreutzer Sonata”). When Casper died of consumption a little later , Beethoven immediately applied for custody of his nephew Karl . While playing the piano with Karl, Beethoven remembered how his father wanted to turn little Ludwig into a child prodigy and did not shrink from being beaten - which is ultimately the reason for his increasing deafness. Johanna van Beethoven, however, took Ludwig to court for custody of her son. Thanks to the help of Prince Klemens Metternich , contrary to expectations for Beethoven, the process ended victorious. Now Beethoven concentrated with all his soul on Karl's musical training and even interfered relentlessly in his private life. When Schindler's intervention was unsuccessful, Karl attempted suicide. After its failure, Beethoven earned contempt for the way he treated his nephew in Vienna.

When Schindler showed Countess Erdődy the letter from Beethoven's estate shortly before his departure, she was able to tell him the identity of the stranger.

Schindler immediately goes to see Johanna van Beethoven. She tells him how she found her peace with Beethoven at the premiere of the 9th Symphony , who finally gave her custody back to Karl shortly before his death. Johanna tells Schindler that she once had a relationship with Beethoven, but was abandoned by him from one day to the next. She was also the stranger Beethoven wanted to meet in Karlsbad. Johanna, who was expecting a child from Beethoven, left the hotel shortly before his arrival without having read the letter addressed to her at the time; this turns out to be identical to the letter to the "Immortal Beloved".

background

In contrast to the film, which assumes that Johanna van Beethoven was the addressee of Beethoven's enigmatic love letter , some Beethoven researchers assume that the “ Immortal Beloved ” may in fact be Antonie Brentano or Josephine Brunsvik .

Reviews

"A dignified, but not very original and increasingly lengthy composer portrait that lags far behind earlier versions."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Ludwig van B. - My Immortal Beloved in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed on September 25, 2008