[27]Beethoven was now in the twenty-second year of his age.
[28]Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, nephew of Frederick the Great, was born Nov. 18, 1772, and died on the battlefield at Saalfeld, Oct. 10, 1806. He was an excellent pianist and composer, and so fond of music that he kept musicians with him in the army.
[29]Archduke Rudolph, son of Leopold of Tuscany and Marie Louise of Spain, was born at Florence, Jan. 8, 1788, and died at Vienna, July 24, 1831. He was a pupil of Beethoven, but eventually gave up music and went into the Church, and was appointed cardinal.
[30]Ferdinand Ries, pianist and composer, and the pupil of Beethoven, was born at Bonn, Nov. 28, 1784, and died at Frankfurt, Jan. 13, 1838. He was considered one of the best pianists of his time.
[31]Buda is that part of Budapest lying on the west bank of the Danube.
[32]These gardens were attached to the imperial palace of Schönbrunn.
[33]Baron Gottfried van Swieten was a distinguished musical amateur and a patron of Beethoven and Haydn. Beethoven dedicated his first symphony to him.
[34]In the original text the will ends at this point. The remaining portion directs Doctor Schmidt to describe his disease, makes his two brothers his heirs, and expresses his joy that when death comes, it will release him from constant suffering. The will is dated Oct. 6, 1802.
Appendix
The following is a chronological statement of the principal events in the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, which was mostly spent in Vienna, and mainly devoted to composition: