How many languages...
did Beethoven know/speak? I know he spoke German and French, did he speak any other languages?
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I think that's all.Originally posted by Julie:
did Beethoven know/speak? I know he spoke German and French, did he speak any other languages?
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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin -
His French was passable and he had some knowledge of Latin and Italian. He complained that he was only able to read Homer in translation and this was also the case with Shakespeare - so his English was not good, despite his admiration for the English and particularly our parliamentary democracy (which in those days wasn't all that democratic but must have seemed so compared to the autocracy in Vienna).Originally posted by Julie:
did Beethoven know/speak? I know he spoke German and French, did he speak any other languages?
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'Man know thyself''Man know thyself'Comment
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Thank you for the info.
Did all compositions have to be written in Italian back then? I don't know if this is true/accurate but if it is, maybe that is why he knew a bit of that language?Comment
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Italian was traditionally the language that was used for musical terms - Owing to his resentment of the French, Beethoven rejected Italian as being Napoleonic and used German instead in the two Sonatas Op.90 and Op.101. He called his Sonata Op.106 - 'Hammerklavier' which means Pianoforte. After that work he returned to Italian terms.Originally posted by Julie:
Thank you for the info.
Did all compositions have to be written in Italian back then? I don't know if this is true/accurate but if it is, maybe that is why he knew a bit of that language?
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'Man know thyself''Man know thyself'Comment
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