Icon: enlarge
Ludwig van Beethoven
Photo:
Henry Guttmann / Getty Images
On December 17, 1770, the name of a certain Ludovicus van Beethoven was entered in the baptismal register of the Catholic Remigius Church in Bonn.
It is not known whether the boy was born on the same day or in the days before.
Apparently that was not important to contemporaries.
In the world of the 18th century, only acceptance into the community of Christian people counted; the material existence of an earthly being was only a temporary phenomenon.
In the world of the 21st century, which is fixated on scientific precision, such negligence seems strange, especially since it creates an annoying ambiguity with the 250th anniversary of the birth of perhaps the greatest and most important composer of all time.
When exactly should it be celebrated, this Beethoven birthday?
The concert managers of most of the major orchestras came up with a pragmatic solution and booked a whole series of Beethoven evenings for the last few days up to December 17, 2020.
Thousands of anniversary concerts have been arranged in honor of the great master around the world, most of them years ago.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of 19.99 €
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
In order to use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.