December 16, 1770 - March 26, 1827
~ A Agnieszka Holland film ~
No mortal man has ever lifted my veil."
Ludwig van Beethoven & Anna Holtz
but I take comfort in the fact
that God made me that way."
of God speaking to man's soul.
Music is the language of God.
We musicians are as close
to God as man can be.
We hear his voice.
We read his lips.
We give birth to the children
of God who sing his praise.
That's what musicians are, Anna Holtz.
And if we're not that, we're nothing.
It's not true.
My head is constantly filled with sound.
It never stops.
The only relief I have is to write it down.
God infests my mind with music.
And then what does he do?
He makes me deaf.
He denies me the pleasure
he allows everyone else, hearing my work."
Is that a loving God?
Is that a friend?
If God is my father, I disown him.
Maybe... Maybe I'm losing my mind.
That's what they think, all of them.
What do you think?"
It's been going round in my head for weeks.
I've been up all night working on it.
What do you think?
Be frank. I value your frankness."
Of course it's ugly. But is it beautiful?
It's meant to challenge your sense of beauty.
I'm opening up music to the ugly, to the visceral.
How else can you get to the divine
except through the guts of man?
See, here. See, this is where God lives.
Not in the head.
Not even in the soul, but in the guts.
Because this is where the people feel it.
The intestines twist and coil to heaven.
Bowels are closer to enlightenment than the brain.
You can't have your head in the clouds unless
there's shit on the soles of your boots.
It's not about understanding.
You must experience these works of mine.
It's a language, Anna Holtz,a new language
I'm inventing to talk about man's experience
of God, my experience of God."
Where does the movement end?"
You have to stop thinking in terms
of beginning and ending.
This is not one of the bridges your iron man builds.
This is a living thing.
Like clouds taking shape or tides shifting.
You see, the first movement becomes the second.
As each idea dies, a new one's born.
See, in your work, you're obsessed with structure,
with choosing the correct form.
You have to listen to the voice
speaking inside of you.
I didn't even really hear it myself
until I went deaf.
Not that I want you to go deaf, my dear.
silence in myself, so I can hear the music."
The silence is the key.
The silence between the notes.
When that silence envelops you,
then your soul can sing.
Short Summary:
Ludwig van Beethoven, played "brilliantly"
by Ed Harris, is racing to finish his new symphony.
A copyist is urgently needed to help the composer
finish in time for the scheduled first
performance - otherwise the orchestra
will have no music to play.
Insightful young conservatory student and aspiring
composer Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger) is recommended for
the position. The most mercurial artist alive, Beethoven
is skeptical that a woman might become involved in his
masterpiece but slowly comes to trust in Anna's
assistance and in the end becomes quite fond of her.
By the time the piece is performed - a moment in
history captured in an exquisitely moving shot
from Anna's perspective, as she sits on the orchestra
floor helping the deaf Beethoven to keep time - her
presence in his life is an absolute necessity.
Her deep understanding of his work is such that she even
corrects mistakes he has made, while her passionate
personality opens a door into his proud, private world.
"COPYING BEETHOVEN" centers on the last years
of Beethoven's life...a turbulent period in which
his struggles with deafness, loneliness and family
trauma provided profound inspiration for arguably
the greatest symphony ever written,
his astonishing Ninth.
Copying Beethoven Movie Trailer:
CLICK HERE
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Lyrics
(english translation)
Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather let us sing more
cheerful and more joyful ones.
Joy! Joy!
Joy, thou glorious spark of heaven,
Daughter of Elysium,
We approach fire-drunk,
Heavenly One, your shrine.
Your magic reunites
What custom's sword separates;
Beggars become princes' brothers
Where your gentle wing alights.
Whoever succeeds in the great attempt
To be a friend of a friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Let him add his jubilation!
Yes, whoever calls even one soul
His own on the earth's globe!
And who never has, let him steal,
Weeping, away from this group.
All creatures drink joy
At the breasts of nature;
All the good, all the evil
Follow her roses' trail.
Kisses gave she us, and wine,
A friend, proven unto death;
Pleasure was to the worm granted,
And the cherub stands before God.
Glad, as his suns fly
Through the Heavens' glorious plan,
Run, brothers, your race,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods.
Ludwig van Beethoven Quotes
"I shall seize Fate by the throat;
it shall certainly not bend and crush me completely."
“No friend have I. I must live by myself alone;
but I know well that God is nearer to me
than others in my art, so I will
walk fearlessly with Him.”
“My misfortune is doubly painful to me
because it will result in my being misunderstood.
For me there can be no recreation in the company
of others, no intelligent conversation, no exchange
of information with peers; only the most pressing
needs can make me venture into society.
I am obliged to live like an outcast.”
“Then let us all do what is right,
strive with all our might toward the unattainable,
develop as fully as we can the gifts God
has given us, and never stop learning.”
“Music is the mediator between
the spiritual and the sensual life.”
“Music is the one incorporeal entrance into
the higher world of knowledge which comprehends
mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.”
"When I open my eyes I must sigh, for what
I see is contrary to my religion, and I must
despise the world which does not know that music is
a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy."
"Music is the wine of a new procreation, and I
am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine
for men and makes them drunk with the spirit."
“Music should strike fire from the heart of man,
and bring tears from the eyes of woman.”
"I have never thought of writing for
reputation and honor. What I have in my heart
must come out; that is the reason why I compose."
“Nothing is more intolerable than to have
to admit to yourself your own errors.”
“I am resolved to wander so long away from you
until I can fly to your arms and say that
I am really at home with you, and can send my soul
enwrapped in you into the land of spirits.”
“Your love makes me at once the happiest
and the unhappiest of men.”
“I can live only wholly with you or not at all.”
“Never shall I forget the days I spent with you.
Continue to be my friend, as you will
always find me yours.”
“Recommend virtue to your children,
that alone - not wealth - can give happiness.
It upholds in adversity and the thought of it and
my art prevents me from putting an end to my life.”
“This is the mark of a really admirable man:
steadfastness in the face of trouble.”
"Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart,
and cannot make a good soup."
“A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.”
“Beethoven can write music, thank God,
but he can do nothing else on earth.”
"What you are, you are by accident of birth;
what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be
a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven."
“Off with you! You're a happy fellow, for
you'll give happiness and joy to many other people.
There is nothing better or greater than that!”
“Applaud friends, the comedy is over."
(Said as he was dying)
portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler,1820
December 16, 1770 - March 26, 1827
Beethoven's Grave
Central Cemetery, Vienna, Austria
