It appears that in the case of the title “Emperor”, there may be conflicts between how later musicians or publishers interpret Beethoven’s intentions and Beethoven’s actual intentions As we debate on the Romantic qualities of Beethoven works, such as giving a meaningful nickname to a musical work, we are reminded of some scholars, such as Charles Rosen, who do not classify at any point Beethoven as a composer of the Romantic period However, one name is recalled instantaneously, arguing for the Romanticism in Beethoven’s works: Anton Schindler A 6Moravian conductor and violinist, he served as a private secretary for Beethoven After Beethoven’s death, Schindler appropriated many items from Beethoven’s apartment, including the 400 “conversation …show more content…
His methods in this procedure were highly controversial, and included half-truths In this way, he “greatly influenced the romantic view of Beethoven”, to the delight of the incoming Romantic composers who probably accepted Schindler’s writings and did not question its validity It will come as little surprise then that Beethoven might not have particularly appreciated Napoleon Bonaparte and his conquests (Perhaps a case could be made for the Emperor concerto as a protest against Bonaparte’s conquest or even for the concerto as demonstrating the valor of Austrian resistance — also an empire at the time — due to its heroic theme.) In a letter to his editors, Beethoven recounts how these events affected him: "During this time we lived in a really oppressive embarrassment [...] The course of events on the whole has had at home its repercussions physically and morally I still can not even enjoy this life in the country so indispensable to me [...] What an exhausting and devastating life around me; Nothing but drums, cannon, human miseries of all kinds." 3 At this moment in time, it is clear to even a casual observer that whatever respect the composer once held for Napoleon, if it had not already dissipated, was blasted away by the cannons invading the