Talk:Ludwig van Beethoven

Dutch pronunciation

Why has this been added? As far as I am aware, Beethoven had absolutely nothing to do with the Netherlands; if we're adding that, then why not the Polish, French and Italian pronunciations? 79.79.72.105 (talk) 13:39, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I agree--Work permit (talk) 03:30, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

I imagine someone added it since the van Beethoven family is of Flemish origin (i.e. it's a Belgian Dutch name), as is pointed out in the background section. Seems relevant to me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.69.80.166 (talk) 05:58, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Belgium was not independant until 3 years after Beïthåofen was dead. Effectively he was of Dutch or Batavic descent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.164.222.45 (talk) 23:32, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Strange how the English pronounciation is correct on two accounts and wrong with one, while the German is direct opposite.--85.164.220.173 (talk) 23:12, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree; Beethoven had nothing to do with the netherlands, or even the dutch language —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kylejilks (talk • contribs) 21:27, 17 October 2010 (UTC) Why do people keep stating that Beethoven has nothing to do with the Netherlands? This is irrelevant. The issue under discussion is whether a Dutch pronunciation should be included, and Dutch is a language not only spoken in the Netherlands. I refer to this statement in the article "Beethoven was the grandson of a musician of Flemish origin named Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–1773).[2] Beethoven was named after his grandfather, as Lodewijk is the Dutch cognate of Ludwig." Does this not show that the Dutch pronunciation is relevant? 24.69.71.254 (talk) 16:58, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

the bipolar claim

"the book, which took him six years to write and research, is the first readable account of the composer’s medical problems and examination of how they affected his creativity, says Mai" - the person making the claim is also the person stating his work is the first yada yada yada. I propose that the statement in this article be modified so as not to give too much weight to this writer's hypothesis. At the least, shouldn't "Mai claims" be added to the line? Personally, psychoanalyzing someone who's been dead for over two centuries seems very questionable. 98.67.15.179 (talk) 07:09, 14 October 2010 (UTC)HammerFilmFan

" Personally, psychoanalyzing someone who's been dead for over two centuries seems very questionable. "... I tend to agree. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.36.95.12 (talk) 13:30, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

I'm a psychiatrist and agree that this is speculation with scant evidence. It seems that Beethoven had a cantankerous personality and may have been prone to sadness, but it is a leap to suggest he was bipolar or even clinically depressed. In fact, the evidence may be to the contrary, as he produced some of his greatest works during some dark days, such as the late string quartets. While many artists have suffered from mental illness, it is a mistake to assume that this a requirement for success. It is becoming cliche to find people cherry picking data to support such specious claims. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.129.251.28 (talk) 01:41, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from Alwinian, 17 October 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} Please insert this movie, to be listed under 'beethoven on screen' http://www.insearchofbeethoven.com/about_the_film.html

• also, the formatting in this chapter follows, in XXXX (year), the last entry, 'copying beethoven' broke from this format.

Thanks! Alwin (talk) 03:19, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

 Not done: The formatting you see is actually poor prose. The section is written as prose, not as a series of bullets, so the correct practice is to vary the way in which the information is presented in order to keep the reader's interest. Keeping that in mind, could you express the content you would like to have added to that section? Also, the film has numerous online, third-party sources - could you pick one to add as a citation to support this content? Thanks, Celestra (talk) 15:47, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 162.129.251.28, 3 December 2010

{{edit semi-protected}} Under Late works I would suggest a revision. The Hammerklavier is a long, monumental work, and it is unsurprising that he perhaps completed fewer works in 1818.

Current: His musical output in 1818 was still somewhat reduced, with song collections and the Hammerklavier Sonata his only notable compositions, although he continued to work on sketches for two symphonies (that eventually coalesced into the enormous Ninth Symphony).

Suggested revision: His musical output in 1818 was still somewhat reduced, but included song collections and the massive Hammerklavier Sonata, as well as sketches for two symphonies that eventually coalesced into the large-scale Ninth Symphony.

162.129.251.28 (talk) 01:24, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

 Done Less the word massive. My76Strat 04:39, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

This acticle is wrong

Ludwig van Beethoven's birth place is wrong. He was born in mechelen, belgium! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.141.192.213 (talk) 00:07, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Please cite a better source than we already have for this. Rodhullandemu 00:10, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

That's not true at all. Beethoven's grandfather was from Mechelen, and worked there, but his father moved to Bonn. He lived at 515 Bonngasse; Beethoven was born in Bonn. There's nothing even remotely controversial about this -- it's all quite well-documented and established. See Joseph Kerman's excellent article in the most recent New Grove, for example. Antandrus (talk) 01:38, 29 December 2010 (UTC)