Beethoven & Mendelssohn

Beethoven composed his Second Symphony in 1802 during a stay in Heiligenstadt, and at that time his hearing loss was becoming a serious problem. At the same time, he wrote the personal document Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he describes his inner struggle with his deafness and the desperation he felt that his musical career might be over. He even considered suicide, but decided to continue both living and working. Symphony No. 2 thus reflects...