Article in French.
Abstract :
At the time of Beethoven’s death, there was no public place in Germany honoring a composer. France had a statue of Gluck, and the United Kingdom a statue of Handel. Between Beethoven’s death and the unveiling of the statue representing him in 1845, Germany placed a plaque in honor of Haydn in Vienna, installed a bust of Bach in the St. Thomas School in Leipzig, and a sculpture from Mozart to Salzburg. Of all these tributes, none provoked as much controversy as that of Beethoven. While the initial idea was already mentioned by the University of Bonn shortly after 1827, the year of Beethoven’s death, it became public in 1832, and official in 1835 with the formation of the Beethoven Society and the Beethoven Monument Committee. This monument was not inaugurated until 1845. It was Bonn, where he was born, and not Vienna, where he spent most of his life, that was chosen as the place of homage.
Discover the full article in “Beethoven,” the Journal of the Association Beethoven France et Francophonie:
https://www.beethoven-france.org/2021/09/07/sommaire-de-la-revue-n21-premier-semestre-2021-134-pages/
Link to the article on ResearchGate (full article available):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354472432_Le_Monument_Beethoven_et_premier_Beethovenfest_de_Bonn_en_1845
